The Unspoken Fall Not on Deaf Ears
by SweetVenom16
Summary: Nightmares are easy. True horror is in our inescapable reality. He runs. She hides. But there's still plenty to be grateful, joyful, and hopeful for while clinging to someone just as lost as you. SasuHina. AU. A story for the holiday season.
1. Chapter 1

AN: I know very little about conditions of the mind. Please do not judge too harshly for that. Remember – this is a work of fiction. And take note that there are grammatical errors galore. Enjoy!

Prologue

She awakens to silence.

Her eyelids feel so heavy that she is almost tempted to go back to sleep but she decides against it. Hinata tries to lift up her arm to wipe the sleep from her eyes and realizes that she cannot. She groans in frustration as she rolls to her side, eyes still closed. Now on her belly, Hinata struggles to push herself up out of the bed. She is only to her elbows and already she is panting from the exertion.

She pauses for a moment. Something is wrong...

Hinata knows she has forgotten something.

With vigor now, Hinata forces herself to sit up. She sways slightly, back and forth and back and forth, so much so that she has to keep her eyes shut. She waits impatiently for the dizziness to subside. Counting to thirty in her head, an eye cracks open and then the other. The room is brightly lit from the sun filtering through the curtain and Hinata lets out a soft hiss in protest for her sensitive eyes. She takes a glance over at her clock but is caught off guard at the instant swimming in her head. When she brings up her hand to cradle her face, it is then that she feels the heavy weight of her arm.

Now she feels it again; that creeping sensation that something is wrong. She cannot put her finger on it but every second that ticks by in silence...

Silence.

It dawns on her how still everything is. Her family has never been loud by any means but the uneasiness in her gut tells her that it is far too quiet.

She takes one step and immediately crumbles to the floor.

Hinata fights off the panic and frustration that chokes her and bites back the tears threatening to fall. But she is so weak and she cannot remember why. She crawls her way to the door but it feels like a thousand miles away. As she drags herself across the floor, she tries and fails to recall what happened to her. Hinata reaches for the knob ignoring the burning in her arm. One finger, two fingers, she finally wraps her hand around the handle and tugs the door ajar.

The stench is putrid and thick.

Her eyes sting from the smell and Hinata coughs and buries her face into the carpet. The muscles in her stomach begin to sporadically clench as she dry-heaves on the floor unable to breathe. Every gag knocks the wind out of her. Every gasp burns.

It is not silent anymore: the sound of her beating heart rings in her ears as she gags.

"Da -" her voice cracks out. Hinata cannot fight the fear anymore. Her vision clouds with tears and adrenaline begins to pump through her veins giving her the strength to push herself onto her feet. She hugs the wall and takes shaky steps down the hall. "Da-" she tries again but cannot get past the parched, dry choking in her throat. Her voice is too thick with tears and panic to make any noise. Hinata closes her eyes and tries to slow her breathing down - she does not recall when it had quickened. With as much calmness as she can manage, she summons up all the strength within her and takes a deep breath.

"Dad!"

It comes out as nothing but a whisper.

And then, silence...

"Dad!..." she croaks out again for her father. "Ha... Hanabi!" she whimpers in hopes her sister might hear her. The tears are rolling down her cheeks and Hinata cannot stand still any longer. She pushes away from the wall and wobbles through the silent house.

"Pl-Please!"

In her panic, Hinata turns around the corner and feels her foot slip on the stairs. At the last second, she reaches for the rail just in time to keep herself from tumbling down the steps. She lands with a hard thud on the floor instead and cries out from the intense pain shooting from her hip, down her leg, and then up her spine. Her hand trembles as she touches the tender wound and gasps at how much it hurts. Carefully, Hinata stands and continues on through the house with a limp.

The stench grows stronger and Hinata cannot swallow back the bile rising in her throat. As quickly as she can she heads towards the bathroom but only makes it through the door before squeezing her eyes shut and vomiting at her feet. Not much comes out but she grimaces from the foul taste. Blindly, she gropes to find the sink not caring about the mess on the floor. The water is cool and Hinata appreciates the calming effect it has on her nerves. She dries her face but gasps at her own reflection.

Her eyes are the first things she sees. Dull, gray eyes stare back at her and reveal only a hint of the confusion and shock that she feels. The bags beneath her eyes are so deep in color that they appear as bruises to accentuate the tiredness of her face. The colorlessness of her lips leaves her face devoid of any life. And she is so thin. The sharp points of her chin and cheek bones have never been this pronounced.

The tears return and blur her vision.

She does not know this person. Hinata knows her face. This is not her face. Where is the light in her lavender eyes or the shine in her hair? What has happened to the softness of her cheeks and the pout of her lips?

The many questions swirling in Hinata's head come to an abrupt halt when she sees in the mirror's reflection that someone is in the bathtub behind her. Hinata blinks past the tears. The skin is blotched taut in green and purple, the arms are swollen, and the tub is filled with a strange black-brown liquid. A closer look and, even though there are bugs crawling along their flesh, the person does not move. They do nothing.

Hinata runs out of the bathroom screaming.

Her foot slips on the vomit on the floor, sending her to the ground, but it does stop her from backing away on her hands from the corpse. She stops when she feels a thick wad of hair in her grasp and slowly turns around afraid of what she might see. Her face is inches away from another body on the floor.

"NO!" she cries as she clambers to her feet over the body. Another lies before her and another is in the corner. There is one in her father's chair and another strewn on the couch.

Hinata tries not to look. The eyes and the faces, the smell, are too much for her but she is frozen. She cannot move. She cannot look away. That one is wearing her father's sweater. The other one over there has her sister's mismatched socks.

"No…" she murmurs and robotically back away. She trips over the body behind her. The world spins and breaks in slow motion around her as she falls; it is then that her memory comes rushing back to her.

 _Everyone in the household fell ill. And then she got sick. She went to get some rest after nursing her sister and then… And then…_

Hinata hits the floor and then twists around running towards the foyer.

"Somebody help me please!" she cries as she fumbles with the locks on the door. She pulls and tugs but the door does not budge. "No," she grumbles, "No, please!" Hinata pulls harder. "HELP ME!" she chokes, "Somebody please! PLEASE! Help me!" Her hands bang on the door but she is dizzy and faint. The stillness of death drowns out the sound of her pounding heart and pounding head. Hinata slides down into a weeping, gasping heap on the floor.

"Somebody," she mumbles, "please."

Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me.

…

 **[Thanksgiving Weekend is normally a time of gratefulness spent with family and friends. But for the Hyuuga Household, here in Konoha, it was nothing short of a nightmare. Last night officials received calls from concerned neighbors stating that for the past several days the home was "unusually quiet" and that the normal "busy-body staff" were nowhere to be seen. Officers approached the prestigious home and found that all the doors had been sealed and barricaded shut from the outside. But the confusion did not compare to the horror they found when finally entering the home. The entire family, including all the personnel, were found dead throughout the house except for a single survivor, Hyuuga Hinata, the eldest daughter of family head, Hyuuga Hiashi, and heiress to the Hyuuga name. Reports say that she was found "weakened, malnourished, and dehydrated" and that when questioned she was "unable to speak past her terrified stupor." She was rushed to the local hospital and officers have yet to determine the" –]**

The television shuts off.

Her eyes glance at her hand on the remote. She almost feels surprised. She almost feels. But the moment is fleeting and she lets it go.

Hinata died in that house.

…

R&R and remember that I am not a marshmallow. Please no flames. This ficlet will be in three parts to follow. See you then!

-SweetVenom16


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Warning – there are time skips and abrupt scene changes that might be a little difficult to follow. Also please note that I have not studied psychology or psychotherapy in depth. I apologize for the inaccuracies that are bound to be present. Enjoy!

Part One: Be Thankful

…..

"Hello everybody! We're going to read a special story today. Are you ready? It's called, 'Burn Unto My Bones.' Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Let's find out what happens!

"Once upon a time, a happy family lived in a big house in the middle of a big valley. The family was blessed with many talents and many gifts. They were strong and beautiful and smart; everyone wanted to be their friend. But the family had a deep, dark secret: they had a history of violence and bloodshed and betrayed their own. 'Sh! Don't tell!' No one could know.

'I swear I'll be back and then you'll be sorry! I'LL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU. Just watch! Just wait!'

"But the family lived on and all threats were forgotten. Hundreds of years went by and still the family prospered. 'No way would he come back,' they said. 'He's surely dead by now. Nothing can stop us. Nothing can scare us.'

"And yet... In the darkness, it waited. It stirred and it slumbered. A curse of death was upon them. No one would escape it. It waited so long until the family was at its best. It would destroy them at their peak and then nothing would be left.

"Until late one night, not so long ago, the time finally came; the curse was on its way. All were sleeping ignorant in their beds. It would burn every last one of them until they were dead. The night grew dark and shadows covered the moon as it descended like haze over all the clan. One by one, it crept down the halls. Some it had smothered and others it had slain. Blood ran down the windows and splashed across the walls. Silently the curse sought to choke the life out of every man, woman, and child.

"But something unexpected happened that night - one person knew that the end was in sight. In haste, the curse decided that by fire it would leave little chance for any survivors. The house burst in flames and embers crackled in the sky. The man ran and he ran towards the sound of his brother's cry. He felt the heat scorch and blister his skin but there was absolutely nothing that could stop him.

'Run!' he screamed at the top of his lungs, 'Run little brother! We have no time!'

"He scooped up the boy and carried him best he could. They did not make it to the window to escape so he threw the boy out right where he stood. With glass on the ground and tears streaming down his face, the boy watched as the curse embraced his brother in flames. But the boy was useless and watched his brother burn. He ran like he said; he did not look back as he heard his family scream. He let them suffer and die. What a coward! And such a disgrace!

"And so here we are now, where you lay in your bed. You're a little coward frozen in fear and you have no time left. I haven't forgotten you- oh no, not yet! Just wait til I find you; oh, the fun we will have! I'll burn you to oblivion, Sasuke, and there's nothing you can do. You know I will find you. I'LL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!"

In the dead of night, three orderlies ran into Sasuke's room from the sound of his bloodcurdling screams.

…..

"Do you want to tell me what happened last night, Sasuke?" the therapist calmly asked. His patient sat beside him on the bench located in the facility garden. From the report given by the night shift, Sasuke had another night terror that was so violent it gave one of the staff a black eye and another deep scratches across the neck. Night terrors and nightmares were not uncommon amongst the other patients but Sasuke's, specifically, showed little to no improvement. The two of them had this conversation nearly every morning since he had been admitted.

"The same thing that always happens" Sasuke grunted in frustration and exhaustion. He ran his hand through the messy spikes of his hair and let out a tired sigh.

"Could you remind me again, please?" Kakashi asked.

"I don't know. Fire, blood, a voice saying it'll kill me - the same damn thing it's always been Kakashi! How many times are we going to go over this?!" he spat angrily.

"I realize you're tired, Sasuke, and that you need a good night's sleep. I want that for you too," Kakashi replied with a steady voice. Sasuke slouched further into the bench. He was not in the mood to hear Kakashi's same old speech. "But I need you to you take your exercises seriously."

"I am!"

"I know you're not," Kakashi countered as he turned his head towards him. "Please don't lie to me, Sasuke. Like you said: how many times do you want to go over this?"

Sasuke shut his mouth and counted very slowly to ten in his mind before he finally looked away. Kakashi sighed as he gathered his notes on the bench.

"If you want, I can always prescribe you -"

"No," Sasuke cut him off. "I don't want anything."

"There's nothing wrong with taking medication to help you sleep," Kakashi suggested. "I think at this point it could really help."

"No," Sasuke reiterated again. Kakashi remained silent for a few moments before respecting Sasuke's decision. As he picked his things, Kakashi reminded Sasuke about making sure he arrived to group on time. Before entering the building, he took one last look at his solemn patient and sighed.

Sasuke buried his head in his hands once he was sure Kakashi had left. He ran his hands over his face and worked on taking deep breaths to calm his nerves. Last night, when he had finally regained consciousness and was aware of his surroundings, there was already blood and skin stuck beneath his fingernails. Lucky for him, Chouji and Rock Lee were not ones to hold grudges. Sasuke grumbled out awkward apologies to them both once morning came but they were incredibly kind and understanding to his circumstances.

 _I can't wait like this much longer_ , he thought wearily. A twig snapped and sent a jolt of adrenaline through his veins in fear and anxiety.

On the other side of the garden, he saw another patient walk slowly with a staff member. She had her hand slightly extended to feel the leaves and flowers brush against her palm. In his head, Sasuke laughed maliciously at himself from his overreaction.

 _Maybe all of them are right_ , he smirked bitterly. _Maybe I am out of my mind_ , he thought as he stood and threw open the door back inside the building.

"Hinata, it's time to go inside," Shino directed her out of the garden.

She said nothing as she was ushered in.

…..

"Man, I'm starving!" Naruto whined as he headed towards the mess hall. "Why can't group ever be AFTER lunch?"

"No group, no lunch," Chouji welcomed everyone with a teasing joke as they entered through the doors. Everyone sat in their regular spots at the table as he began to serve them their food. "Plus if we eat after group, no one will be too sleepy or hyper during the session. You know we get off topic often enough as it is."

"But I always get so hungry!" Naruto pouted as he impatiently waited for his meal. "Ramen?! Ah man! Chouji! You're the best!" he cheered before shoveling the food in his mouth. "Hey Hinata, are you not going to eat that?" Naruto pointed to her untouched bowl.

It was no surprise to anyone that she did not answer him or acknowledge that he spoke. Hinata kept her eyes downcast and her mouth sealed tightly. Feeling everyone's eyes on her, she gave a small shake of her head.

"Cool, can I have it?" Naruto reached over to grab her bowl.

"Hinata," Sakura cut in and smacked Naruto's hand before he could grab her food, "You know you have to eat something. Kurenai wants to make sure you're maintaining your weight."

"You can have mine, Naruto," Ino offered with a smile, "I'm hungry for something other than food," she winked suggestively.

"You too Ino," Sakura chastised. "You both have to eat at least half of your portion. You guys have check-ups coming up soon. And Ino, I know we talked about keeping our provocative language to a minimum."

"Ch!" Ino scoffed, "It wasn't even that bad."

Sasuke tuned out the boisterous chatter and fought the urge to tell everyone to shut up. He was grateful that he was sitting next to Gaara; Gaara hardly ever spoke unless necessary. Not tasting the food in his mouth, Sasuke glanced around the table in boredom. His gaze settled on Hinata and noticed she still had not touched her food. She stirred her bowl aimlessly but did not eat a single bite. Not knowing why, he found it incredibly irritating.

"You heard her," Sasuke spoke flatly. "If we have to eat this stuff then so do you."

Hinata did not stop her stirring.

"It'd be unwise to ignore me, Hyuuga," he hissed. His unreasonable anger started to boil inside of him but Hinata continued her pointless ministrations. His eyes followed her hand go round and round the bowl as the contents swirled and mixed with each other. Around and around and around – a giant red eye with three black tomoe suddenly appeared in the bowl beneath her hand.

Sasuke smacked the bowl off the table. The entire room became silent from the sound of it clattering on the floor. Hinata's hand was still frozen in midair.

"You're not the only one who doesn't want to be here!" he yelled. "If you've got something to say then say it. We're all tired of you moping around all the time. Why don't you do everyone a favor and just leave!"

"Hey lay off Uchiha!" Kiba shouted in her defense. Suddenly, the room became thick with tension as Kiba rose to his feet. Sasuke was not perturbed or surprised in the least; he remained seated and fuming. Naruto stood up in an attempt to calm everyone down.

"Easy Kiba," he grinned nervously. "I'm sure he didn't mean it like that. Ne, Hinata? You're okay right?"

The entire room turned to look at her.

Hinata kept the blank expression on her face and bit the inside of her cheek to slow her racing heart. She glued her eyes to her hands as she brought them to her lap. Without a word, she stood and picked up the fallen food from the ground. Everyone just watched as she bowed her head as an apology to Chouji.

"Sasuke," they heard Kakashi from across the room.

"I'm done," Sasuke snarled as he pushed away his plate and stormed from the room. Kakashi followed after him.

"Jeez," Kiba growled as he sat back down. "What's his problem? Here Hinata, you can have the last bit of mine," he said and insisted that she take a few bites.

.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi called after him down the halls.

"I don't want to hear it Kakashi!" Sasuke hollered back. He did not notice how close Kakashi was behind him. Kakashi grabbed him by the shoulder, ushered him into the nearest room, and slammed the door behind them.

"Sasuke, I need you to do something for me," he started in an even voice.

"What?!"

"Sleep, Sasuke," he instructed. "I need you to sleep."

"I can't!" Sasuke shouted as he shook Kakashi's hand off his shoulders. "We went over that this morning. We went over that since I came to this damn place!"

"Then take a nap. Get some shut eye for fifteen minutes," Kakashi urged. "You need to rest."

"Don't you think I want to?" Sasuke pleaded. "But I can't! Not when…" and Sasuke instantly shut his mouth.

"'Not when' what Sasuke?" he asked but Sasuke quickly diverted his eyes to the corner. "'Not. When.' What. Sasuke," Kakashi repeated pointedly.

Dejectedly, and anticipating the lecture to come, Sasuke slumped onto the floor and buried his head in his hands. Kakashi said nothing and joined Sasuke sitting on the ground.

"Not when I know it's coming for me," Sasuke whispered defensively.

"Sasuke."

"I know what I saw, Kakashi," he insisted even though he knew the conversation was going nowhere.

"Sasuke, what happened to you and your family was a terrible tragedy," Kakashi replied in a soft voice. "But it was just a fire. Nothing is after you."

 _You didn't see what I did. You don't know_ , Sasuke thought hopelessly.

.

"Don't let that jerk get to you, Hinata," Kiba reassured as he passed her the plate he was washing. She simply grabbed the plate and focused on thoroughly drying it. Kiba was not put off by her silence and continued to ramble to fill up the silence in the kitchen. "The guy screams all night every night. He's just like a little kid that throws tantrums because they're too tired."

"Sleep isn't always a good thing," Gaara interjected as he put the dishes away.

"Sleep is a great thing," Kiba argued, "Besides, you can't be the one to talk; you don't even try to sleep!"

"I can't sleep," Gaara reminded them, " _He_ comes out if I sleep."

"Sure sure," Kiba waved off. "We all know you and I have issues when the full moon comes out too. Speaking of which," he glanced over at the calendar hanging on the wall, "there's going to be one right around Thanksgiving… I'll have to ask to go into solitary that night. You might want to as well, Gaara."

"As long as I don't fall asleep I should be fine," Gaara politely refused.

"Hinata, isn't Neji coming by then?" Kiba turned to ask her.

Hinata immediately shrank into herself at the mention of her cousin's name. Very few things could get a response from Hinata: bringing up her family was one of them. Hinata knew Kiba meant well but she was very sensitive where she and her cousin were concerned. She figured Kiba would not drop the subject until she answered; she gave him a small nod.

"That'll be nice," he acknowledged with a nod of his own. "Glad our families are coming by to visit."

Hinata had to bite her lip as her vision became too watery for her to see. She said nothing as she finished drying the dishes and silently excused herself to leave.

…..

The days got colder as Thanksgiving Weekend drew nearer. Hinata preferred to be outside but she found solace in the library on the days that she was advised to stay inside. The library was normally empty and the windows had a direct view of the gardens; Hinata always sat at the window. She pressed her face against the cold glass and pulled her sweater a little tighter around her body. Lately, she had been trying to be more detached than usual as the holiday weekend approached. Thinking about **that** day did nothing but hurt her when all she wanted was to be numb. It only served as a reminder that she was alone. **That** day she woke up alone.

 _It's not your fault_ , she closed her eyes in emotional exhaustion. _It's not your fault._

It was so hard not to wish she had died in that house that day. Every day she was haunted with so many questions: why did she, alone, survive? Who would do such a horrible thing to her family? Why did she have to be left alone? Hinata pursed her lips. She was not alone – Neji was in the same position as her. How she envied him. He was away when it happened. He was not trapped inside their house filled with the bodies of their dead family for days on end. Would he have been stronger than her? Or would he have been the one residing in this facility and she the one to visit regularly?

 _Breathe Hinata_ , she reminded herself. _You're spiraling. You know it. Stop it!_

"Two visits in a row this week, I'm surprised," Hinata heard the librarian speak but she kept absolutely still to hide her presence.

"Don't sound like you aren't glad to see me, Shikamaru," Hinata heard a woman reply.

"Troublesome," he said snorted. "Seen your brother yet?"

"Of course! Don't think I would come by if my brother wasn't admitted here," the woman laughed sarcastically. "Gaara seems to be doing better. Still not sleeping but he says he meditates to rest. He asked if Kankuro could come with me next time but, you know Kankuro, my other brother's not exactly easy to pull away from work. This place isn't exactly close either."

Hinata suddenly wished she could fade into the walls. She felt like an intruder on their private conversation.

"So then you're coming by again soon, Temari?" the librarian asked.

"I suppose," she answered, "I'm staying in town this week anyway. I'll probably drop by tomorrow. See you!"

Hinata heard the sound of the woman's heels exit and fade down the hall. She could not help but release a tiny sigh of relief.

.

Sasuke grimaced from the sound of his feet running across the tiled halls. The patter resounded throughout the ward and defeated the purpose of him trying to stay quiet. He could hear his pursuers call out his name behind him.

"Sasuke, please!" one staff member called out.

"Mr. Uchiha, please refrain from running! You could induce another episode!"

He shook his head as he continued his sprint. Sasuke bolted down another hallway and threw himself into the first room he saw. Slamming the door behind him, Sasuke leaned heavily against it to catch his breath. His eyes darted back and forth across the many shelves lined with books before settling on the bemused librarian in the corner. Ice pumped in his veins as he stood frozen on the spot. Shikamaru did nothing but stare back at him. A few more seconds passed in still silence before Sasuke decided to brusquely walk behind some aisles. With a yawn, Shikamaru shook his head in boredom.

Grateful for the quiet moment, Sasuke slumped down on the floor and tried forcing his pounding heart to be still. Visions of blood and fire flashed through his mind every time he blinked. With a frustrated grunt, he gripped at his hair and buried his face in his lap. The nightmares were unrelenting every night. How many mornings had he awakened to the sound of his own agonizing screams? How many days, filled with nothing but rage and terror, had he spent in this place? He had to get out. He needed to get out.

In the distance he thought he heard footsteps. Sasuke's body tensed as he strained to hear better. He could feel them searching for him. They were always looking for him. Always. It never stopped. He knew he had to run. He knew he had to get out.

As silently as possible, Sasuke crept towards the back window in the library. His anxiety grew with each step he took. His eyes would scan the rows upon rows of books for potential threats. He could almost feel someone watching him from the corner of his eye. He would see a shoulder from behind the bookshelf over there or a figure matching his pace beyond the books around him. Blindly, Sasuke reached out to sneak around the corner of one shelf. He rejoiced inside at the sight of the window. He crouched on the windowsill and lifted the latch when he finally noticed he was not alone. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a figure right beside him and he cranked his head to the side in panic to look.

Hinata sat inches from him on the window seat. When he did not move, she slowly dragged her eyes away from the view and curiously met his desperate gaze. It was the first time they had ever made eye contact. She never knew his eyes were black as coal. He never noticed how pale her lavender eyes were.

"Sasuke! Are you in here?"

The moment was gone and Sasuke did not hesitate to throw open the window and jump down to the grass. He hit the ground running. Hinata watched him until he ran around the corner. Carefully, she closed the window and reset the latch just as Sakura and Rock Lee came around one of the bookshelves.

"Oh, Miss Hinata!" Rock Lee noticed her sitting quietly.

"Have you seen Sasuke?" Sakura panted next to him.

Hinata locked her eyes to the ground and shook her head once.

"Darn! Maybe he's in another room. Come on Lee," Sakura rushed him out of the library.

Hinata listened carefully for their footsteps to completely disappear before she turned back to look through the window.

 _The look in his eyes_ , she thought, _it's like mine._

…..

"Hey," Sasuke called out to Hinata as she came down for breakfast the next day. Startled, her eyes locked with his for a brief second before darting back to the ground. She walked silently pass him and became confused when he kept in step with her pace. "You didn't tell them I was in the library yesterday, right?" he asked out of nowhere.

Hinata shook her head.

"Why?" he asked and placed his hand over the door so she could not escape inside.

 _I'm not sure myself_ , she winced and shrugged her shoulders.

"Well," he struggled with getting the words out, "Thanks…"

She was too afraid to look up and he was glad she decided not to. She gave him a nod and he took his hand away from the door to let her inside.

…..

For autumn, the weather was unusually warm and, for that, Hinata was grateful because it meant she could be outside today. The garden always felt safe to Hinata. She could smell the flowers and the grass and hear the wind pass through the trees. It was so full of life. Hinata felt most calm and collected when she was outside. She knew that was the reason most of her exercises took place here. But regardless of how much she enjoyed the garden, this day's particular treatment still filled her with dread.

It was **that** day. And Neji was coming by.

Hinata still loved her cousin, especially, now that he was her only living relative. Hinata knew Neji loved her just as much. But she could not see him. It was not that she did not want to; she just could not. That hurt both of them and Hinata hated herself for that more than anything. So she sat anxiously on the bench waiting for when he would arrive to sit on the one behind her. Hinata tried not fidget the closer his arrival came. Her eyes darted to where Kurenai was sitting a couple of yards away to observe the session.

 _Breathe Hinata, just breathe_.

She tried not to jump when she heard someone approach and sit on the bench behind her. Hinata knew it was her cousin. She closed her eyes in tried to focus on her breathing.

"Hinata," Neji greeted her warmly.

"Neji," she murmured in acknowledgement. They both winced from the sound of her scratchy voice.

"How are you today?" he asked carefully behind him.

"It's nice… outside today," she stuttered.

"The weather was very gracious today, wasn't it?" Neji looked up into the sky. The sun was shining so brightly and it reminded him of the past – of better days before what happened to their family. He felt guilty for putting her through so much stress to speak with him, on this day especially. _Kurenai said it's better to not avoid the problem_ , he recalled when they first started having him present for some of Hinata's exercises. _But to see her like this_ … Neji hesitantly looked over his shoulder to make sure Hinata was facing the opposite direction. She was hunched over and her hair was flowing gently with the breeze. He wanted nothing more than to see her and take her home away from this place but he knew he could not provide the help she needed. Her fear and pain ran far deeper than his. With that in mind, he took a deep breath and continued on with their session.

.

"Do you think they'll let us play basketball once it starts heating up again?" Naruto asked Sasuke as they walked around the grounds. Sasuke hated small talk but he could never quite get Naruto to leave him alone. He had tried telling him off, fighting, avoiding, but nothing seemed to work. Eventually, Sasuke learned to let the guy hang around him and just tune out most of what he usually said.

"I don't care," he shrugged and kept walking.

"I bet I could totally beat your ass!" Naruto prodded to get a reaction from Sasuke. Naruto was also the only one, aside from Ino, who had the guts to provoke him in spite of his explosive temper and outbursts.

"Why are you even here?" Sasuke asked exasperatedly and stopped in the middle of the path. "You always seem fine. Just go home already."

"Hey, come on. You know why," Naruto replied with a tight smug. "I don't have anywhere else to go. Besides, if _he_ left I'm not sure what I'd do anymore. _He's_ been around as long as I can remember."

"You know we haven't seen _him_ in months, right?" Sasuke countered.

"Well, I know," Naruto shrugged, "but _he's_ still here. I don't think _he'll_ ever fully go away, you know?"

The two stood silent and Sasuke did not know what to say anymore. He looked around for a distraction from the awkward conversation and his gazed settled on Hinata on the benches not far from them. Even from this distance, Hinata looked tenser than normal.

"Hey, that's Hinata's cousin over there, right?" he asked Naruto. Naruto glanced over to where he was looking and nodded.

"Yea, that's Neji. He comes by a couple times a month to help with one of her exercises," Naruto answered. "She doesn't look so good right now though."

"She looks like she's going to be sick," Sasuke pointed out. Hinata furrowed her brow and bit her lips as the seconds passed. "Is it because it's the anniversary of what happened to her family?"

Naruto looked over at Sasuke in confusion. He had never taken interest in anyone else's business before. That, and Naruto thought everyone knew about the answer to his question.

"Yea but…" Naruto started, "weren't you here the last time she saw him on accident?"

.

"Thank you again for coming today Neji," Kurenai said as she walked over to the two Hyuugas. "We can't wait to see you next time. You'll be back for Christmas, right?"

"Of course," he answered politely. "Goodbye Hinata. Take care."

"Bye Neji," she mumbled back. Hinata held back the sigh of relief she felt now that the session was over. Mentally, she felt like she just finished a marathon. In her exhaustion, she slumped deep into the bench and closed her eyes.

"Ah! Akamaru, not over there! Come here boy!" she heard Kiba yell from across the lawn. Before she could open her eyes Hinata felt a large, furry body jump on her and they both crashed to the ground. The dog barked happily at her and she tried very hard not to smile from his enthusiasm.

"Hinata!" she heard Kurenai gasp.

"Hinata, are you alright?!" Neji asked frantically.

Akamaru finally climbed off her and she gratefully took the hand extended to her as she wiped the dog hair from her eyes.

"I'm okay," she spoke gently and lifted her head up on instinct to thank Neji for helping her up.

She should have been more careful.

All Hyuugas had white eyes. She had them; Neji had them. They were white and cold and emotionless. They were the eyes of the dead. Hinata could not look away from those eyes that were the same color as hers. She saw them in her nightmares. They haunted her dreams. She saw them lifeless and still and could not look away for days. They were always watching her: unblinking, unforgiving. She could see the maggots borrow holes in their depths and the bloated faces foaming with blood. And the stench…

"NO!" she screamed and twisted out of Neji's arms. "No! Please no!"

"Hinata!" he choked as she pushed and pulled to get away from him.

She could not breathe. She had to get away. She had to hide. Hinata jerked so forcefully to pull away that she slammed hard into the ground. She did not care. All she could see were those eyes. Those white eyes that would not forgive her. Hinata had to find a place they could not reach her. In her panic she crashed into a hard body and felt large hands grasp her arms.

"LET ME GO!" she shrieked and struggled to escape. The hands held her tighter.

"-inata! HINATA!" Sasuke's booming voice broke through her terrified state.

Immediately her eyes snapped up to his. They were black. His eyes were black. His gaze was confused and shocked but it was steady. Hinata locked her gaze on him and forced her eyes to stop darting back and forth in fear. She felt faint from her hyperventilating and tried to stop her spasms so she could breathe. Sasuke's hands were firm and warm and she willed her trembling to cease by focusing on them. Still shaking, she fell into his weight in absolute fatigue.

…..

It was dark outside when Sasuke finally walked out of Hinata's room. He closed the door silently behind him and felt out of place standing before Kurenai and Neji.

"How is she?" Neji asked trying to mask his guilt and worry. It had taken several attempts to get Hinata back to her room but she had profusely refused to unleash her grip on Sasuke. Neji had watched as the Uchiha walked his cousin back. Every weak step she took was another stab his gut. Neji knew he should not have gone to help her up. He knew better.

"She's asleep," Sasuke grumbled awkwardly and shifted his weight.

"Thank you for your help, Sasuke," Kurenai sighed.

"Sure…" he accepted, "Is it alright if I go now?"

"Yes that's fine," Kurenai nodded and Sasuke gladly walked away. She and Neji shared a look. "I'm sorry Neji. I should have been paying more attention to the other patients."

"No," Neji argued, "It's not your fault. I should have known better. Will this set her back?"

"It's difficult to say," Kurenai shrugged apologetically. "We'll have to observe her for the next couple of weeks to see if there were any repercussions." Both of them stared at her door with heavy hearts. "Will you still be coming next month?" she asked to make sure.

"Anything to help her," Neji said unwaveringly and made his way towards the exit.

..…

The night was quiet when she awoke. Hinata bolted in her bed from the silence.

 _Not again_ , she pleaded to herself, _Please not again!_ The wind blew against her window and she could hear the buzz of the lights in the hall. When Hinata strained her hearing further she could almost feel the night staff's light footfalls. She ungracefully fell back on the mattress in relief. _I did it again_ , she began to cry. Her hand covered over her mouth as she wept and choked back the tears. _I can't take this anymore. I can't!_ Rolling onto her stomach, Hinata buried her face in to the pillow and cried bitterly for her cousin, for her family, for herself. There was so much despair. Her heart felt so heavy in her chest. She was never going to leave this place. She was never going to get better. Hinata had nothing.

A hand smacked on the outside of her bedroom window.

Hinata turned her head to the side from the sound. The silhouette of a man standing outside her window cast a dark shadow over the room. Her heart stopped. Hinata could not move.

.

Shikamaru finished putting his clothes back on before turning around to face Temari still lying in the bed. He half expected her to be dressed so he was surprised from the grave expression on her face. Putting his shoes on, Shikamaru walked over to her side of the bed and sat down next to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked stroking her face affectionately.

"It's nothing," she answered quickly and avoided looking him in the eye.

"I don't have to be back in another couple of hours. Talk to me," he persisted. Temari swatted his hand away and grabbed the sheets to her chest so she could sit next to him. The minutes stretched on in silence and still she said nothing. Shikamaru waited patiently for her to speak.

"I…" she began, "I did something, something bad. I didn't want to but I had no other choice," she whispered cryptically. Temari turned to face Shikamaru and he raised his eyebrows in disbelief at the expression on her face. She was ghastly pale and her eyes were desperate. "I had no other choice, Shikamaru. You have to believe me!"

"Temari, what's wrong? What did you do?" he asked nervously.

"I… They made me do it. They wanted Gaara to be the one. I didn't have any choice – they have Kankuro!"

"Temari!" Shikamaru grabbed her by the shoulders. "What did you do?!"

"It's Gaara," she confessed. "They used us to get to her."

.

"I'll find you."

 _Wake up._

"You know I'm coming for you."

 _Wake up Sasuke!_

"I'LL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!"

 _WAKE UP!_

The sound of his own scream awoke Sasuke. He threw himself off the bed and ran for the corner of his room. His squeezed his eyes shut and fought to keep the images out of his head. Fire. Blood. Red eyes staring at him from the darkness. They swirled and mixed over and over again through his mind never giving him a second to breathe. He reached for the light switch and took a deep breath once he clicked it on.

The room remained dark.

 _What?_ He thought in confusion. He cracked open his eyes to make sure he hit the switch correctly. Sure enough, he saw his hands on it and he clicked it on and off again and again to see if it would work.

"What the hell?" he croaked. Sasuke walked over and opened his door to the hallway. It was pitch black. The power was out. Quietly, he walked out and felt his way along the walls. His heart began to race but Sasuke forced himself to keep walking. When he reached the end of the door he hesitated to open it. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and a chill ran down his spine. All of his senses were suddenly hyperaware. He took in a deep breath and wrenched the door open.

Gaara was standing on the other side.

"Wha-!" Sasuke gasped. "Gaara! Jeez, what the hell?!"

Gaara said nothing but a small grin grew on his face.

"Sasuke," he finally spoke.

"Yea, bastard," Sasuke growled. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"What are you doing out of your room?" Gaara inquired and tilted his head. Sasuke paused for a second from the strange tone in his voice.

"You know why," he answered shortly. Gaara took a step back from the threshold and into the bright moonlight. "Where's the night shift? They working to get the power back on?"

"Who knows," Gaara grinned and turned around to walk back from where he came. "You'll want to get back to bed Sasuke. It's late," he advised in a light voice. "And try to keep quiet; Gaara's sleeping right now."

 _Creep,_ Sasuke waited until he rounded the corner before letting out a sigh. Deciding that sleep was no longer an option tonight Sasuke walked without a destination in mind throughout the building. _If the staff find me then they find me,_ he reasoned with himself. He just did not want to wait around in his room for the sun to rise. Before long he found himself in the library and he brushed his fingers against the spines of the books. _Maybe I should read_ _something to pass the time_ , Sasuke thought blandly and picked a random book. With the lights not working, he headed toward the back window to read in the moonlight. His foot stubbed on one of the shelves and he cursed as he limped towards the window seat.

"Mm!" he heard a squeak in the darkness.

"Who's there?" Sasuke called out loudly as his pulse accelerated again. He raked his eyes across the corners of the dark room before fixing upon a trembling figure hiding in the corner. It was curled in a tight ball and shook head to toe. Sasuke leaned forward and squinted his eyes to better focus; lavender eyes softly glowed from the shadows. "Hinata?" he said in surprise.

She moved faster than he anticipated and reached out to grab him. He backed up instantly and was ready to push her away until he saw the tears streaming down her face. Hinata brought a shaky finger up to her lips and gestured for him to keep quiet.

"What are you doing?" he furrowed his brow.

"Hyuuga Hinata…" they both froze at the sound of Gaara's voice call for her on the other side of the door. Hinata all but clawed Sasuke back in the shadows of the room with her before the door creaked open. "Hyuuga Hinata… Where are you?" he mockingly sang. "Come out, come out, wherever you are."

Hinata bit her lip so hard that she was sure she could taste blood. Her white-tight grip on Sasuke let every single one of her tremors transfer onto his skin. Her heart was pounding so hard she was afraid Gaara would hear it and find them. Adrenaline began to pump through both of their veins as they sought refuge in the dark.

A bookshelf crashed on the floor and Sasuke's hand automatically covered her mouth to muffle her terrified shriek.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" Gaara roared.

Sasuke kept his hand firmly over Hinata's mouth in fear that she would scream and give away their location. It did not take him long to figure out why Hinata had been hiding and why Gaara was roaming the dark halls. That person was not Gaara, not right now, and was after Hinata for whatever reason. Reason meant little to _this guy_. All _he_ cared about was satisfying _his_ own bloodlust. Their eyes followed Gaara's form stalk aisle by aisle and Hinata squeezed Sasuke tighter as he drew closer.

"I'll find you," Gaara snarled maliciously and ran out the library.

A heartbeat later and Sasuke grabbed Hinata's hand and tugged her towards the window. He did not waste a second before pulling the window open and jumping out. When he landed, Sasuke turned around and waited for Hinata to follow him. She got as far as the ledge and then she froze. Hinata eyes scanned the moonlit lawn and the shadows that danced across the grounds. The ground suddenly stretched miles away from where she stood. She would never make the jump. Hinata squeezed her eyes shut fearfully and curled into herself again.

"What are you waiting for?" Sasuke growled below. "Hurry up before _he_ comes back!"

She kept her eyes shut and shook her head.

"It's only the second floor Hinata!" Sasuke urged in a forced whisper. "Just jump!"

 _I can't!_ she cried inside and shook her head again.

"Found you," a cruel voice whispered behind her ear.

"HINATA JUMP!"

The cold air wrapped around her as she launched herself out the window. Her legs collapsed the moment she made contact with the ground. From pure instinct, she rolled at the last second and the wind knocked out of her once she landed on her back.

"Get up!" she felt Sasuke's hands grab at her and pulled her to her feet. Hinata stumbled as they scrambled into the safety of the bushes and trees.

"I'll get you Hyuuga!" Gaara bellowed behind them. "You're my prey!"

"Come on!" Sasuke pushed her as they ran through the garden. As soon as they were out of sight in the small grove of trees Sasuke pulled her behind one and covered her mouth again. She was panting too hard. Sasuke listened for Gaara's pursuit and, as if on cue, he heard the leaves crunched beneath _his_ footsteps. Sasuke pulled Hinata closer into himself and molded tighter to the trunk they were hiding behind.

"Hyuuga!" they heard _him_ call. "Where are you?" Hinata gripped Sasuke's hand that was muffling her whimpers and he felt her tears running down onto his hand. He held her more firmly to keep her still. "You escaped last time," _he_ tried provoking them. "I promise you it won't happen again. You alone won't get to wake up this time. YOU ARE MY PREY AND I'LL RIP YOU APART!" Again, they waited to hear _him_ run off before Sasuke backed them away slowly.

They ran through the trees and back to the main path in hopes of locking _him_ outside once they reentered the building. As they approached the facility they found all the doors and windows on the ground level locked and barricaded from the outside. Several boards and other obstructions were nailed to the frames; it was clear that no one was supposed to leave the building.

"The hell?" Sasuke cursed and tried to pull off some of the planks. Hinata backed away in recognition of the scene.

 _It's the same_ , she paled as she kept distancing herself from the doors. _It's the same! That's what he meant; I survived the last time this happened._ Hinata could not feel her legs anymore and she crumbled to the ground. Ice rushed through her veins and her world went silent. All she heard were the sounds of her pounding heart and ragged breath.

"There you are!" _his_ voice pierced through the night. In slow motion, Hinata turned her eyes to see Gaara race towards her. The manic smile plastered on _his_ face beamed with excitement and bloodlust. _He_ was so different from the Gaara she knew; Gaara would never smile like that. _His_ hand was only inches from her face now and she did not have time to blink before it reached to wrap around her throat.

Sasuke was faster.

He tackled Gaara and sent them both tumbling to the ground. Sasuke darted back up to his feet only to be clawed back down to his knees. He felt Gaara's hands scratch and grab from behind him as he struggled to get up.

"Out of my way Uchiha!" _he_ howled.

Sasuke kicked blindly behind him and landed a hit across _his_ jaw, stunning _him_ for a second. Sasuke took the opportunity to untangle himself from Gaara's grasp and scrambled to his feet. He did not get far as Gaara tackled him back and they continued to roll over the grass. Gaara had him pinned and then bit him on the shoulder, staining _his_ lips with blood. Sasuke screamed from the pain and grabbed at Gaara's hair to escape _his_ hold. Gaara locked _his_ jaw and pulled Sasuke up a few inches off the ground only to slam him back down. Sasuke's vision went dangerously black from the impact and a deafening ring resounded in his ears. He felt Gaara's cold hands tighten around his throat. Sasuke desperately clawed at _his_ hands and Gaara's face but it did nothing as he was beginning to slip in and out of consciousness. He barely heard the shattering of a glass window in the distance.

"WAKE UP!" Naruto roared as he came crashing down from a window on the second floor to punch Gaara square in the face. Sasuke coughed and gasped for air to fill his lungs faster once _his_ hands released him. He was seeing double as he watched Naruto send hit after hit unto Gaara. Tiny hands grabbed and pulled him further from the fight but he had no strength to resist them. Blinking, he looked up and only saw lavender.

 _Hinata,_ was the last thought that went through Sasuke's mind before everything went dark.

Hinata struggled to pull Sasuke away from Gaara and Naruto but he was too heavy for her to get very far. She still could not get her legs to work properly. Not knowing what else she could do, Hinata hoisted him onto her lap and pressed her hands against the bleeding wound on his shoulder. Blood seeped between her fingers and she pressed harder to get it to slow down.

"Don't get in my way, Fox!" Gaara let out a shrill cry that no longer sounded human.

"I said 'wake up!'" Naruto growled as he jumped in the air to get more leverage, "GAARA!" Hinata glanced up in time to see Gaara's body freeze just before Naruto's fist came hammering down. There was a slight pause before Gaara fell to the ground; he was out cold. Naruto panted as he knelt on his hands and knees. He crawled over to check Gaara's pulse and, sure enough, it was steady. "Oi," Naruto called over to her, "How's Sasuke doing?"

Stunned, Hinata gave a simple nod of her head.

"Good," Naruto smiled tiredly. "I saw you guys from my room and I could tell Gaara… that he wasn't the one chasing you." With effort, Naruto lifted to his feet and ripped the boards off the nearest window. He then punched a hole through the glass to reach the latch and slide it open. "Can you take care of Sasuke real quick while I get this guy inside to solitary? Don't know if Gaara or, uh, the _other_ guy will wake up first, you know." Slinging his arm over his shoulder, Naruto pulled Gaara up and climbed into the darkness of the window.

The night was suddenly so quiet.

Hinata felt the cool, evening breeze brush her face. It gently blew the leaves and weaved through her hair. Like it was the first time, Hinata finally took a deep breath of fresh air. She looked back down at the man in her arms and a strange feeling churned inside her. Hinata did not know how to explain it. Guilt riddled in her bones for dragging Sasuke into the mess that was meant for her but there was also something else, something warm. Her ears perked up when she heard him groan as he began to stir.

Pain. There was no better way to describe how he was feeling. Sasuke's entire body ached. He tried rolling his shoulders and yelped at the sharp pain from his wound. He grabbed for the injury and his fingers ended up tangling with smaller, thinner hands. He cracked an eye open and saw Hinata's pale eyes glow in the moonlight.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled as tears ran down her cheeks and fell onto his face. Her voice was soft but he heard her as clear as day. "I'm sorry," she kept repeating over and over again. Sasuke would have snorted if he was not absolutely sure it might kill him in this state. He had never heard Hinata talk so much; even if all she said were the same two words.

"I'm sorry," she murmured like a prayer.

If he were being honest, the gentle timbre of her voice was much softer than he thought it would be. But right now, with his head pounding, he wanted nothing more than to tell her to be quiet. Nice as it was, her voice was hurting his ears; she might as well have been screeching at him. With more effort than he was ready for, Sasuke lifted his hand and abruptly covered her mouth. He saw her pale eyes widen in surprise and confusion.

"Stop... apologizing..." he groaned. "It's annoying."

Hinata's eyes welled up with more tears and they spilled over his hand. She gently pried his fingers from her face and gingerly cradled it between her hands. She gave a sharp nod in compliance and Sasuke gave out a sigh of relief. He could still feel the tremor of her weeping but he was grateful that she listened to him. Sasuke normally tried to avoid overly emotional women. He knew they were unstable in that state. So even in his pain, Sasuke found it refreshing to find that Hinata was so agreeable. Sasuke could almost imagine tolerating her presence like he did Naruto's - if only she would stop crying.

"I'm tired," he admitted. "Wake me up when it's time to eat."

Hinata kept applying pressure to his wound and counted his breaths until they fell into the steady pace of sleep.

"Okay," she whispered back.

…..

"I hope you're up for visitors this morning," Kakashi peaked his head inside Sasuke's room.

"Only if they have food," Sasuke deadpanned. Since he had returned from the hospital due to his injuries from the previous night, Sasuke had been under strict instruction to remain cooped up in his room. The head doctor of the ward wanted a thorough investigation about what happened the night before: from the mysteriously barricaded facility to all the structural damage to the fight that involved four patients. He had heard that Gaara was still unconscious from the finishing blow Naruto dealt him and that Naruto was locked in his own room as well.

"Well," Kakashi opened the door and stepped aside to let Hinata pass under his arm, "I told her that you weren't supposed to see anyone until the interrogations were concluded. But she **insisted** that you were very adamant about being informed when it was time to eat." Hinata's head hung low and her bangs obstructed any view of her eyes. Kakashi looked from her to Sasuke in curiosity. "You have two minutes," he said firmly and shut the door behind him.

Hinata stayed as far from Sasuke as the room would allow while she made a mental list of his injuries. His face was covered in bruises and scratches and white bandages peaked out above the collar of his shirt. Even the tips of his fingers were covered. Her face contorted in guilt and pain.

"I don't need your tears," he spoke flatly. "You don't need to cry over me."

She sniffled and mumbled incoherently.

"Nobody can hear you if you mumble," Sasuke gave out a tired and defeated sigh. He was too exhausted to snap at her.

"You," Hinata whispered slowly, "You got hurt... because of me."

"I got hurt. It's not because of you," he countered.

"... But" -

"Can't you just say, 'Thank you?'" he cut her off. She hesitantly brought her eyes up to meet his. "You don't need to apologize all the time."

"I'm sorr" – she began but stopped when he shot her a glare. "… Thank you," she corrected.

Sasuke looked away from the awkward atmosphere in the room. He could tell that she was glued to the spot and had not left the room yet.

"You're welcome," he grumbled as he rested his chin on his hand. "You can head back now," he scratched his head for a loss of words, "At least someone should eat what Chouji prepared for Thanksgiving."

"Okay," he heard her comply. Before she walked out the door, Sasuke turned his gaze back to her. It was faint, but he was pretty sure he saw her smile just as she left out of the room.

…..

"Hinata!" Kurenai said in surprise when she opened the door to the quiet knock outside. "I thought you would be with the others and writing down what you want for the upcoming holidays. The boys are going to be heading out soon for the stores once the crowds die down. If you don't hurry they'll leave without knowing what you want."

Hinata kept her eyes glued to her feet. Her was face was blank as usual but there was a determined curl on her lips that had not been there until now. She chewed on her lip and hesitantly opened her mouth several times but she was still as silent as ever. Kurenai could tell that she was seriously mulling something over in her mind.

"Why don't you come in for a bit," she kindly spoke and patiently stepped aside to open the door wider.

The mousy girl took small steps into her office just enough for Kurenai to close the door behind her. Kurenai opted to lean against her desk instead of sit behind it to try to encourage the girl to speak in a more comfortable environment. The clock ticked on as the two women stood in silence. Five minutes went by without a word and in that time she had watched as Hinata gave subtle signs of the internal struggle within her. She was fidgeting with her hands much more than normal and her eyes methodically darted back and forth across the tile of the floor. Kurenai was pleasantly surprised at Hinata's progress; it was more movement than anything she had shown her in months outside of her episodes. After the events from a couple of days ago, Kurenai was afraid it would detract Hinata's progress so far. But Hinata, for whatever reason, seemed fine. She began to wonder how she had missed the sudden change in her quiet patient. Eye contact was rare if any and Hinata moved as if in a trance nearly all the time. Kurenai knew better than to assume Hinata was incognizant to the environment around her but also knew that she was usually unresponsive to most stimuli.

But the young woman that stood before her now looked different. Kurenai did not know where to attribute it but there was a tiny spark about her. Subtle, but the spark was definitely there.

In her musings, Kurenai almost missed the hushed mumbled of her patient.

"Could you say that again for me, dear?" she asked gently.

"I..." Hinata began in a shaky voice. It took her a couple of moments before she took another breath, "I know what I... want," she finished softly.

"Oh?" Kurenai encouraged before hiding a small gasp.

Hinata's pearl, iridescent eyes shyly met her ruby ones with an unspoken determination and resolve.

"I want... I want to see Neji."

…..

R&R. That's the end of Part One. Look forward to Part Two coming this Christmas Weekend. Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

-SweetVenom16


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Apologies for the late update. Hopefully the long chapter will be enough to placate everyone. Don't we all wish the winter holidays could last longer? But onwards we go! Warning – abrupt scene changes and time skips ahead. Enjoy!

Part Two: Be Joyful

…..

The air was musty and stale as a single, dim lamp swayed carelessly and illuminated the vast room. Various corners of the warehouse's interior remained dark and untouched by the glow. The room was bare except for a single chair beneath the yellow lamp; its occupant slumped unconscious and strapped down. A few feet away in the shadows stood a dark figure keeping watch over the man in the chair. A cell phone vibrated in the guard's pocket and he checked the Caller ID before answering.

"Sir," his addressed. He listened attentively to the voice on the other line. "Still the same: unconscious. What of the target?"

The guard remained calm and collected as he listened to the disappointment leaking from the phone.

"May I be of assistance?" he asked but was met with refusal. "What do I do with him?" the guard glanced at the captive man and listened for his instructions. "Understood," he obeyed and ended the call. From his pocket he pulled out a pair of black gloves and carefully put them on. He brusquely walked to the bound man and dragged him in the chair towards the door that faced the dock. A cold gust of wind met them as they exited the warehouse and the guard quickly pulled them behind a nearby stack of crates as a boat went by. The guard cursed under his breath and waited for it to pass. Once he was sure it was out of sight, the guard continued with the bound man to the edge of the dock and proceeded to wrap him in thick chains.

The clatter of the heavy chain-links awoke the captive man. His sight kept going in and out of focus but he steadily became more aware of the extra weight tying him down.

"What're you..." he garbled out. The guard paid no attention as he hooked the last bit of chain and grunted as he shoved him towards the water.

"Nothing against you," the guard assured him without emotion. "If you want to blame anyone, curse the Hyuuga."

"No don't!" he screamed as the chair toppled in slow motion over the edge.

...

 **Three weeks earlier.** **  
**

.

The urge to look away was overwhelming. Tiny beads of sweat gathered above Hinata's brow as she fought to keep her gaze steady. Vermilion eyes blinked every so often and held no malicious intent towards her; regardless, Hinata found staring into them difficult and uncomfortable. She and Kurenai had only just begun to work on her new exercises. They both agreed that if Hinata wanted to be able to look her cousin in the eye by the Christmas holidays then she would need to work on general eye contact first. Hinata's face nearly burst into flames when she begrudgingly admitted that she had little issue meeting Sasuke's gaze. When Kurenai inquired as to why, Hinata did not have a definitive answer for her.

"I'm sorry," Hinata gasped and dropped her eyes back to the floor.

"That was twice as long as last session, Hinata," Kurenai smiled sympathetically. "You're doing very well. Be patient with yourself; things like this take time."

 _I_ _'ve already wasted so much already,_ Hinata frowned to herself. This was the first time Hinata was actually trying since being admitted. She was so tired of writing herself off as broken. But even with her new found determination there were still moments when she wanted to tell Kurenai she was too scared to continue. Just thinking about facing her cousin tied her stomach in knots. The self-doubt was suffocating. Her mind kept telling her she was going to fail and that she would never be the same Hinata ever again. In a lot of ways it was true. But Hinata did not want to be her old self. All she wanted was to be a stronger Hinata than she was now.

There was a quick knock on the door but Hinata kept her eyes downcast as usual when Kurenai gave permission to come inside her office.

"Ah, Sasuke!" Kurenai welcomed with a smile. Without thinking Hinata turned her head to look at him. Sasuke's face was stony as ever but he locked eyes with her for a split second before bringing his attention back to Kurenai.

"Kakashi said you wanted to see me," he said and kept his distance at the door.

"Yes. Please, have a seat," she gestured to the chair beside Hinata. Kurenai watched closely as the young man pulled out the seat beside her patient. Unbeknownst to them, Kurenai observed how aware they were of each other. Hinata began to squirm and fidget in her seat and Sasuke immediately tensed up once he sat next to her. "Thank you for coming Sasuke. I did not get the chance to thank you yet for helping Hinata a few days ago."

"It's fine," he grumbled.

"Hinata," Kurenai looked to the young woman, "I apologize for not telling you earlier about my asking him to be here. I just wanted to run an idea by you if you're both willing."

"I'm okay," Hinata murmured.

"Well," Kurenai began, "I was wondering, Sasuke, if you might be willing to participate in a couple of Hinata's exercises. I've noticed that she's more comfortable around you than most people and I was thinking we could put that to some use."

"What do you have in mind?" Sasuke asked suspiciously. Hinata was too embarrassed to open her mouth let alone ask as well.

"She and I have a goal we would like to meet in a few weeks and I think with your help we might achieve it," Kurenai described carefully. "We're working on her eye contact right now."

"She doesn't have that problem with me," Sasuke cut her off.

"Yes," Kurenai's lip twitched in irritation and she reminded herself that Kakashi had a completely different approach when it came to interacting with his patients. "But we want to widen the circle of people she interacts with comfortably. Things like eye contact and giving verbal responses or acknowledgments. Right now, subconsciously, Hinata feels she's in a safe environment when you're near. Not too different from when she and I would do her exercises in the garden. Right Hinata?"

Hinata squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that she would melt into the floor. It was difficult enough admitting that information to Kurenai but having Sasuke hear it as well was almost too much. The heat rising to her face indicated her getting redder by the second. Thankfully she did not feel Sasuke's burning gaze on her and she gave a small nod for an answer.

"Seeing as how the weather is quite unforgiving at the moment, I'm hoping we can recreate that sense of security with you near," Kurenai explained.

"So…" Sasuke began with a glare, "You want me to follow her around…?"

"Of course not," Kurenai reassured them. "You would only be present when we're doing certain treatments. I suggested it to Kakashi already and he gave his approval for you to participate. He feels the role will help you grasp a better feeling of control in your day to day activities."

"Of course he would," Sasuke huffed under his breath. Hinata could not hide the tiny smile from his remark.

"Think about it," Kurenai pitched to them, "and let me know by the end of the day. Sound good?" Neither patient moved or said a word. "Okay, that wraps things up for now. You're both free to go." Kurenai kept the smile on her face polite as she watched Sasuke walk straight out the door followed by a flushed Hinata. She looked down at her notes and hoped that they would both give their consent.

Sasuke heard Hinata's quiet footsteps trail behind him as he walked through the halls towards his room. When she did not turn around the corner towards her own, he figured she probably had something she wanted to say to him. Sasuke stopped in his tracks abruptly and turned around to face her. The movement caught her off guard and Hinata nearly crashed into him.

"What?" he asked curtly.

"Sorry, for earlier," Hinata apologized keeping her eyes downcast. "You really don't have to if you don't want… I didn't know she was going to ask you to help."

"Stop apologizing all the time," Sasuke reminded her with a sigh. "And what goal was she talking about?"

"Oh, uhm…" Hinata bit her lip nervously. Sasuke watched as she pressed her fingers together and he had to fight off his aggravation when she did not continue her sentence. Hinata debated whether or not she should tell him about her and her cousin. It was no secret but she did not want to bother him with her personal matters. Hinata squeezed her eyes shut and wished that Kurenai had never invited Sasuke in the first place. Faster and faster she fiddled with her fingers until Sasuke grabbed them for her to stop.

"What are you trying to do Hinata?" Sasuke asked firmly as she looked up at him.

"I… I want to see my cousin again," she finally admitted. Her ears turned bright red as she looked down at their joined hands. His very touch seemed to burn her skin. "I want to see him…"

Sasuke did not say a word after that. His thoughts immediately went to Hinata's last disastrous meeting with her cousin. He had never seen someone look so terrified before. The piercing cry of her screams when she fled from her cousin still rang in his ears. For a second Sasuke tried to imagine himself in her shoes: if his older brother was alive but he could never see him. A wave of anger and despair washed over Sasuke and he let go of Hinata's hands.

"When?" he asked.

"Hm?" she responded confused.

"When are you going to see him?" he asked again and tried to not to roll his eyes; Sasuke hated repeating himself.

"He's coming to see me on Christmas," Hinata answered simply. Sasuke counted the days in his head for a moment and then bent down to her eyelevel.

"Fine," he told her decidedly. "I'll help out. But we start immediately and there's no backing out. Understood?" A strange spark lit in her iridescent eyes and Sasuke was taken aback in that moment; this was not the same woman who idly watched the days go by anymore. She nodded her head sharply in response and they continued walking together down the corridor. "So, eye contact…"

...

Shikamaru always hated being in the spotlight. He rather preferred to stay on the sidelines when it came to the drama of everyday life. It was his unwavering ability to work objectively that got him his job at Konoha Psychiatric Hospital. Most days, Shikamaru did his best to stay out of trouble and stuck to his own business. It was not in his nature to take unnecessary risks. So imagine Shikamaru's surprise when he found himself becoming more and more involved with the sister of one of the patients.

Temari.

She was not in the original plan Shikamaru had laid out for his life. But life had a funny way of throwing the unexpected at a person in the most unlikely places. So here he lurked, book cart beside him, trying his best to seem like he was not anxiously waiting for the meeting in the conference room to end. Shikamaru made sure to keep some books at hand to make it appear as if he was still doing his job when, in actuality, he counted the minutes until he saw her face. Temari was currently in a meeting with all the head doctors of the psychiatric ward and Hyuuga Hinata's cousin. Since the events that took place Thanksgiving weekend the ward had been thrown in an array of chaos. Shikamaru still cringed when he thought about the hours of labor the staff did to remove the debris that boarded around the facility. It took two broken windows, one busted-down door, a completely wrecked library, and a thousand nails later before the grounds were finally restored to their original state. Remembering the phone calls he and the rest of the staff had to make to all the patients' families still gave him a piercing headache. Which brought him back to the meeting currently taking place.

Since Gaara, Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke were all directly involved, each of their listed guardians had to be contacted and brought together specifically for an incident report. As Shikamaru recalled, Naruto had no relatives and was brought in by the city while Sasuke was the only surviving member of his family. That just left Gaara's and Hinata's family members. Temari made Shikamaru swear to keep the story of her involvement out of the report and told him that if anyone suspected Gaara's attack was anything but a relapse then her other brother, Kankuro, would suffer the consequences. He shook his head as the image of her pale and frantic expression flooded his mind.

"That will be all, Miss Sabaku, Mr. Hyuuga. Thank you again for coming and your understanding of the situation. We promise that we will look into this matter further to ensure it does not happen again," he heard beyond the door along with several chairs sliding across the floor. Shikamaru faked a yawn as the door opened and the people filed out of the room.

"Ah, Shikamaru," one head doctor, Tsunade, called out to him. "Glad I bumped into you this morning. Can you check in with Rock Lee and Suigetsu? I want their reports of that night on my desk by lunch. Yes?"

"Yes ma'am," Shikamaru affirmed with a nod and pushed the book cart down the hall. He trailed Temari's heels as she rounded the corner and headed straight into the library. As soon as he closed the door behind them Temari turned and reached for him; Shikamaru opened his arms for her in a heartbeat.

"I'm exhausted," she mumbled into his shirt. Shikamaru ran his hands down her back in comfort.

"Not so bad, right?" he asked.

"If by that you mean it could have been worse… then you're right," she sighed. "We're lucky he didn't press charges. If his cousin and the others hadn't testified saying they knew Gaara was not in his right mind that night... A man like that wouldn't have let us off so easily."

"Temari," Shikamaru started carefully, "Hinata and her cousin need to know." Instantly, he felt her stiffen in his arms. Slowly, he pulled back and held her by the shoulders to look her in the eye. "You know this isn't about you or your brothers; it's about her. Your family is just as much a victim as theirs."

"But Kankuro -"

"Her cousin's a detective with Konoha PD and a reputable one from what I can tell by looking at him. He could help," Shikamaru tried reasoning with her. "And I'm pretty sure he'd want to know about the people targeting his family."

"You think I hadn't considered that?" she glared. "First of all, he wouldn't be allowed to investigate; it's a conflict of interest. Secondly, I don't even know how these people found out about Gaara and us in the first place! They were able to get rid of a family like the Hyuuga. Who do you think would be able to pull off something like that and **not** have their hands in the law enforcement at the same time?"

"Hyuuga Neji is different," he argued firmly.

"And how do you know that?" Temari shot back. "What even makes you think he can be trusted? For all we know, he could have set up his own family."

"I'll handle Neji," Shikamaru spoke, his resolve unshaken. "But you have to tell Hinata."

.

Since the temperature had begun to drop with the changing of the season, the fireplace in the mess hall was used frequently for the staff and patients alike to bask in its warmth. Hinata sat at one of the couches by the fireside with a distant look in her eye. Neji did not enter in the room to greet her; he stayed just outside the door. He was not scheduled to meet up with her for another few weeks so he convinced himself to keep his distance. Even from so far away, he did not see any injuries on her nor did she appear to be in any particular distress and that knowledge placated him for now.

On the night Neji received a call from the hospital, about Hinata being attacked by another patient, he nearly lost it. The calling staff member spent nearly an hour on the phone with him to calm him down and convince him that his cousin was completely fine after the ordeal. A part of him wanted to demand for her immediate transfer to another facility but Neji knew his feelings were getting in the way of his reason. The day's meeting was particularly difficult for him to sit through. The older sister of the man that had made an attempt on his cousin's life was especially tense and visibly upset. As much as he wanted to be angry at her and her family, Neji could not find it within himself to press charges. After all, Hinata was alive, safe, and uninjured and the young man that attacked her was a fellow patient here. Neji knew the risks when he admitted Hinata into Konoha Psychiatric Hospital. He could not hide her away from the world forever. Neji took a deep sigh and walked away from the door.

"This isn't the end, you know," an unfamiliar voice called out to him. Neji snapped his head to the side to see Shikamaru leaning from around a corner. His white eyes scanned around to see if anyone else was within earshot before walking over to the librarian.

"If you had a hand in what happened to my family," Neji threatened. Shikamaru looked around the corner again to double check they were alone.

"No, but someone I care about did," Shikamaru looked him in the eye. "And whoever is after your family has also done something to theirs. So if you want to do something about that then you're going to need my help."

"Tell me who first," Neji demanded.

"Gaara," Shikamaru disclosed. "His older brother is missing and the people targeting your cousin have him. With my help, I can assist you in finding these people and how to get rid of them. What do you say?" Neji glared hard at Shikamaru in disbelief and suspicion.

"How can I trust you?"

"You can't," Shikamaru answered honestly. Neji remained silent for a few moments and stared hard at the man before him. When Shikamaru did not crack under the intimidating weight of his gaze, Neji deduced that the man was had every intention to see this through. Given the chance, Neji could hardly refuse the opportunity to find the people that murdered his family.

"What do you need?" he tensely asked.

"All the reports on your family's case along with access to every piece of evidence collected," Shikamaru said. "Plus, I want copies of your family's archives. Everything from the beginning. One thing I know for sure: whoever killed your family was familiar with the Hyuuga."

…..

Even before her family's tragic end, Hinata had been a shy and introverted young woman. In group settings she tended to just listen to the conversation of her peers rather than lead discussions. Getting back to normal interactions with people **now** seemed like an impossible feat to her. Kurenai wanted her to get back in the practice of speaking regularly to people she did not necessarily know very well in polite conversation. But where Kurenai was patient, Sasuke was less so. He believed in more direct, sink-or-swim approaches to Hinata's exercises. And though Sasuke was not one to give words of encouragement he was thorough in keeping his promise to help her. That was where she found herself today: accompanying Sakura in the gardens to retrieve some branches to decorate for the upcoming holiday season.

"Thank you for joining me, Hinata," Sakura turned to her in a pleasant voice. "At first I thought Sasuke was joking when he said you wanted to come with me."

 _I thought he was too,_ Hinata thought to herself. They continued walking around the terrace in silence before Hinata reminded herself she was supposed to be working on her responses.

"You're welcome…" she mumbled as she blushed in exertion and nervousness. Sakura smiled kindly at her words and continued their partially one-sided conversation. Two hands suddenly shot out from behind the bushes and grabbed Hinata and Sakura into the foliage. They both shrieked before their mouths were covered by cold hands.

"Have you seen him?" a voice hissed in their ears. Sakura wrenched the hand off her mouth and turned ready to punch their assailant. The other hand released Hinata and she took in a deep breath; adrenaline rushed through her veins as her heart raced in panic.

"Ino?!" Sakura cried angrily in surprise.

"Sh!" the blonde urged them and pushed their heads to peek through the bushes. "Have you seen him?!" she asked again ardently.

"Ino," Sakura gritted her teeth and tried to rein in her anger, "It's not polite to scare people like that. Especially after what happened last month! I need you to apologize to Hinata right now. Hinata, are you okay?" Sakura turned worriedly towards the quiet girl. Hinata was tightly squeezing her eyes shut and focused on slowing her breathing down the way she was taught. "Ino!"

"Yea yea, sorry," Ino brushed off without glancing at either of them. Her eyes were entirely focused elsewhere. "Oh look!" she grabbed and turned their heads again.

"What are we looking for?" Sakura swatted Ino's hand away from herself and Hinata.

"Him!" Ino pointed. Beyond the bushes and across the gardens stood a pale young man walking through the grounds with head doctor Tsunade and therapist Yamato. Hinata rubbed her eyes and stared at the young man again; for a second she thought it was Sasuke. He had similar black hair and a stoic demeanor but his skin was deathly pale in comparison. "Doesn't he look delicious?" Ino purred as she followed his form with her eyes. "I would gladly eat him right up. I can feel myself getting -"

"That's," Sakura cut in abruptly, "enough. Ino, remember what we talked about in regards to treating people respectfully. Please keep that in mind for our newly admitted patients."

"Mmm," Ino hummed offhandedly.

"And he's not the only new patient," Sakura informed them both. "Others were admitted with him. And like I said: be respectful. They're under the care of city councilman, Danzo."

.

"That concludes the tour of our facility," Tsunade smiled to the pale man as they finished walking around the grounds. Danzo stood up from one of the benches and walked slowly towards the group.

"How does it look, Sai?" he asked.

"Everything seems to be in order," Sai gave a fake smile. "I believe myself and the others will settle in nicely here."

"Thank you for your willingness to be part of our program," Yamato laid a warm hand on Sai's shoulder. Sai's hand twitched slightly from the unwanted touch but Danzo sent him a look that stilled him immediately. "We hope that your time here will be productive and well spent. We promise to provide you the best care during your stay."

"I expect no less," Danzo replied. "Thank you, again, for taking in these young individuals. I understand the burden it must be treating these government-funded clients."

"Not at all," Tsunade contradicted. "We are here to help. That's our job."

"Sai," Danzo took a step closer to the pale young man. His wrinkled hand came to a rest on Sai's shoulder in a tight grip. "Don't forget why you came here. Be attentive and inform me of your progress regularly. Understood?"

"Perfectly," Sai nodded and his smile never reached his eyes. The plastic expression on his face did not falter and he slowly turned his head and locked gazes with the three young women hiding in the brush. A cold shiver ran down Hinata's spine and she gulped nervously.

"What are you doing?" a stoic voice asked. Hinata spun around in relief at the sight of Sasuke. His familiar, black eyes helped slow her beating heart and settled the uneasiness in her chest. When no one answered him, Sasuke looked out through the bushes. "New guy?" he asked as Hinata subconsciously leaned towards his side.

"Uh, Sasuke," Sakura replied nervously as an afterthought and she began to fidget uncharacteristically. "Yes," she finally choked out. "He and, uhm… two others are new here. You," she trailed, "You haven't seen them yet, right?"

"No," he shook his head. He was not particularly interested in newly admitted patients. Sasuke glanced down at the small, quiet woman by his side and noticed she was reaching her limit of interaction for the day. "Mind if I take her?" he looked up to ask Sakura.

"You can take me anytime," Ino cut in. Sasuke raised an annoyed brow in her direction and Sakura patted Ino's shoulder heavily.

"Ino…" Sakura's voice rose in frustration. "Yes, Sasuke, you can leave with Hinata. Ino's going to accompany me now, right?" And Sakura led Ino away from the pair further down the path. Hinata kept her head bowed and Sasuke watched them leave for a second before bringing his attention back around to her.

Hinata's cheeks flushed pink from mental exhaustion and the cold winter air was beginning to make her skin prickle uncomfortably. Sasuke took note of how much more alive she seemed than just a few months ago. Hinata's skin returned to a healthier, milky color and her ivory eyes had started to show a peculiar light that he had not noticed before. Sasuke broke from his staring when she brought her hands to her mouth to warm them.

"Want to go to the library?" he offered to get them out of the cold. He already knew the answer. Hinata's eyes gave a soft glow and she nodded her head with a small smile.

.

"I can't do this."

"Yes, you can," Shikamaru encouraged her. "You didn't come all this way to back out now."

"They contacted me again," Temari whispered fearfully. "They know Gaara didn't go through with it. And they," she swallowed hard, "they want me to try again this full moon on Christmas."

"Are you?!" Shikamaru asked in shock.

"No!" Temari gasped. "I won't put my brother through that again! When I saw him the other day he hardly looked at me. He felt so ashamed like it was his fault. And I," she choked, "I told him to be more careful. Can you believe that?! I did that to him and I had to tell him…"

"All the more reason you have to tell Hinata," Shikamaru pushed. "Look, she spends a lot of her time in the library. She's probably in there now. You won't get a better chance than this. And about what these people are telling you to do," he lead on, "Lie. Tell them you'll do it. Say whatever it takes to make them believe you. Buy us as much time as you can so we can find Kankuro."

"I hate this," Temari ran her hands down her face. Shikamaru kept silent and squeezed her shoulder in comfort before opening the doors to the library.

Thankfully, it was unoccupied as usual and only the books on the shelves were around to bear witness. Shikamaru led her towards the back of the library to the window seat he knew Hinata liked to sit. He stopped abruptly when he noticed she was not alone. Sitting beside her was Sasuke. Shikamaru had been so preoccupied in the history of the Hyuuga that he did not pay much attention to the silent pair lately. But the increase in the amount of time they now spent together did not go unnoticed by him. A second of debate was all it took for Shikamaru to decide that the Uchiha's presence was just going to have to be a necessary evil. He doubted Sasuke would leave Hinata alone with them anyway.

"Hinata," he called out. Sasuke turned at the sound of her name and looked at her from the corner of his eye until she turned as well. Shikamaru walked up to them with Temari in hand. "This is Temari, Gaara's older sister. She has something to say to you." Temari looked from him to the pair in caution.

"Do you mind?" Temari tried gesturing for Sasuke to leave.

Sasuke looked back at Hinata. Her face was passive but her posture was stiff and uncomfortable. A glance down to her shaking fingers was evidence of that. Sasuke was unsure if Hinata's rigid form was from fear, anger, or anxiety but his mind was set the moment he felt a small hand tightly grip his shirt.

"I'm not going anywhere," Sasuke deadpanned. Temari grit her teeth in frustration and scoffed.

"That's fine," Shikamaru cut in before things got ugly. He turned pointedly to Temari and reiterated, "That's fine. Go on."

"Miss Hinata," Temari began with her eyes downcast, "I want to apologize for my brother's actions during Thanksgiving weekend." When she did not say another word Shikamaru nudged her to continue. "And," she picked up hesitantly, "I ask that you not blame my brother for what happened that night."

"I know…" Hinata whispered surprisingly. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at how easily she seemed to forgive Gaara for trying to kill her. Everyone knew that Gaara's other personality was violent and unpredictable and that Gaara had no control once he was in that state. But still, Gaara not only tried to kill Hinata he also attacked Sasuke and knocked out two of the staff that night. Things like that did not normally get swept under the rug.

"No, you don't," Temari sighed. "Because I was the one that told him to do it…" The tension in the room went up another level at her confession.

"What?!" Sasuke growled.

"Easy Sasuke," Shikamaru defended. "You're only here to observe, remember."

Hinata furrowed her brow in confusion and ice shot through her veins. Her mind went numb as those words swarmed through her head.

"What…" she stuttered.

"It's a long story but," Temari's voice trembled, "I was forced to… to hypnotize him for that night. Gaara knows that it's dangerous when he sleeps and he's normally very careful about that. But for several weeks I performed a sort of hypnotherapy on him so that when the time came he would fall asleep and the _other_ Gaara would come out to… to try and kill you. I didn't have a choice."

"But," Hinata's voice thickened with tears and confusion. Her chest pounded fearfully. "Why?"

"Because I was blackmailed to," Temari confessed. "Gaara and I have another brother, Kankuro. He's been missing for weeks now and I had received a call that he was being held hostage. I don't know who these people are that have my brother but I'm pretty sure they're the same people that murdered your family."

The room began to spin as Hinata tried processing all that information. Her breaths grew deeper as she started to hyperventilate. A large hand landed on her shoulder and it kept her grounded through her shock. Tears pooled in her eyes as she glanced over at Sasuke. His face was hard and written in anger but she knew it was not directed at her.

 _It's because of me_ , she gasped in her mind. _This happened because of me. But why? Why does someone want me dead so much?!_ Her head felt like it was underwater and she was unable to pick up the rest of the conversation. It sounded like Sasuke was yelling at Temari to tell them more and Shikamaru was yelling back. Feeling faint and fighting off a panic attack, Hinata closed her eyes and held her breath for a few moments to clear her head.

"I need to know more," she whimpered in the midst of her throbbing skull. "I need to know why someone wants to… do this. I…" Hinata took a deep breath and looked up shakily to Shikamaru. "I need to know. I need my…" she stuttered, "my family's records. Anything. I need to find out why someone… why someone would want to get rid of my family. Please…!"

"The Hyuuga were pretty influential," Shikamaru replied. He walked to his desk a few aisles away and returned holding a number of files and books. "I can get my hands on some more but these are the resources we have right here. Newspaper articles, research documents, the city's history, your family had its hand in a lot of areas."

Hinata's hands were shaking as she reached to take the stack of documents. She would have dropped them if Sasuke had not caught them at the last second. Hinata's eyes glued to the papers praying that she might find some answers locked within them.

"I'm sorry," Temari repeated with her voice full of regret, "But they are my brothers."

…..

The wind howled angrily outside as heavy rain poured through the night. Sasuke took his time walking back to his room after he finished his session with Kakashi. He soured at the memories of the last few times they met. Kakashi seemed overly eager to hear about how Sasuke had been participating in Hinata's treatments so far. Sasuke not only found Kakashi's subtle hints annoying but he also found them intrusive. He figured that if Kakashi wanted to know how Hinata was progressing then he should talk to Kurenai and not him.

 _What's wrong with me?_ Sasuke paused his trek down the hall. He was being overly protective and private about the time he spent with Hinata and he knew it. Sasuke may not always look forward to talking to Kakashi but they had a fairly close therapist-client relationship. He normally did not have a problem telling him anything. _Well that's not true_ , Sasuke shook his head. Sasuke did not talk about the night his family perished with Kakashi anymore. Every time he told Kakashi that something evil was in that house and killed his family Kakashi always told him that it was only an accident. That his diagnosis was intensifying the memories of his traumatic experience. On and on they had argued about it until Sasuke stopped trying to convince him altogether. _Who would ever believe in an old curse anyway?_ He smiled ruefully.

The lights flickered out and a deep chill pierced through to Sasuke's bones. His eyes frantically searched the darkness as his heart raced a thousand miles a minute in his chest. He could almost hear whispers in the distance but he did not recognize a single voice. Panic set in and Sasuke blindly reached out along the wall to find an escape. He started out walking and then faster and faster and faster still and suddenly he was sprinting full speed down the hall. The corridor had never felt this long before.

" _I'll find you_ ," a voice resounded in his skull. The sky outside turned red and the torrential rain fell in black sheets against the window.

"No!" Sasuke gasped as he continued to run. The hallway sprouted a million red eyes that fixed their gaze upon him. They turned and followed every time he sprinted by.

" _I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you. I'll find you_ ," a twisted chorus of voices stalked him down the never ending corridor.

"NO!" Sasuke screamed in terror as he ran and ran.

" _I'LL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!_ "

A dim light shone distantly through the darkness and Sasuke ran as fast as he could towards it. The dark presence was closing in on him from behind, chasing him and waiting for him. The light twisted behind a corner and Sasuke all but leapt out to reach it as he rounded the bend.

A blink later and the lights in the hall hummed on. They blinded him for a second. Sasuke was facing a door in a different hallway than on the one he originally started. Still gasping for air and catching his breath, Sasuke looked around and behind him for any traces of red or death. The floor and walls and windows were the same as they had ever been. The wind continued to gust and the raindrops outside continued to fall. Everything was normal.

.

Hinata chewed on her nails as her eyes swept over page by page. Surely somewhere in her family's archives she could find out why someone was targeting her family. After Temari's dizzying confession about being blackmailed, Hinata was incredibly anxious to figure out why someone was so adamant about the demise of the Hyuuga. She also could not figure out why Neji had not been targeted but she was grateful he had been kept out of it none the less. Hinata immediately dispelled any suspicion of his possible involvement; Neji was nothing if not loyal to his family.

 _Perhaps he was spared because he's not from the main branch family and thus has no real claim or influence to the Hyuuga inheritance? But if money or power is the motivation, why bring so much attention by killing us all off? Why murder? What did my family do to deserve this?_ Hinata grimaced and balled her hands into fists.

A small knock at her door startled Hinata and she scrambled to hide the various notes and books scattered across her bed.

"Hinata," Shino peeked his head in after a few moments, "It will be lights out soon." Hinata was curled underneath her blanket and watched as the raindrops streamed down her window. She granted him a tiny nod in acknowledgement. "Okay, have a good night," he said and quietly closed the door. Hinata waited for his footsteps to fade down the hall before pulling the blanket off to reveal all the papers. She had to swallow down the guilt she felt for hiding things from Shino. Out of all the staff, aside from Kurenai, he was the one that was most attentive to her needs. Shino did not spare any expense of patience or understanding when it came to her care. Hinata considered him a very dear friend and, because of that, she wanted to keep him as far from danger as possible.

Images of Sasuke, bruised and bloodied in her arms, flashed through her mind and she winced as though she was in physical pain.

 _I shouldn't get him any more involved than he already is_ , she considered grimly. Another short knock to her door brought her reeling back to the present. Before she was able to hide all the papers the door jerked open then closed as Sasuke entered in her room without a word.

"Wha-?!" she sputtered. One look was all it took for her to notice just how exhausted Sasuke was. Heavy bags lined his bloodshot eyes and his hair was in an even messier array than normal. His entire body screamed of his anxiety and sleep deprivation but that came as no surprise since Hinata knew about his unrelenting nightmares. Silent as ever, Sasuke stiffly walked over and sat beside her on the bed, grabbing a few files along the way. She remained quiet in her puzzlement at his odd behavior.

"Can't sleep," Sasuke curtly answered her thoughts and refused to meet her eye. Instead, Sasuke stacked some of the documents together and began to read along with her. "Figured you'd still be up," he grumbled while stifling a yawn and running tired hand across his face. "Might as well do something productive." He kept a keen ear for any sign of protest from her and relaxed when she whispered a simple 'okay' in compliance. It surprised him as well when Sasuke suddenly found that his feet led him straight to her door. At first, he hesitated knocking; Sasuke was not even sure why he wound up here in the first place. But as he stood beyond her door and the warm light peaked through the cracks Sasuke figured that he did not care why he had come. He was here and that was all that mattered now.

They sat together in silence and only the sound of rustling pages echoed in the room. The yellow light from the lamp cast a soft glow and the blankets were warm to fight off the chill of winter. For the first time in a long while Sasuke felt somewhat calm. He glanced over at Hinata as she continued rifling through the pages. Maybe it was the comforting silence or the warmth of the room in general but Sasuke's eyes became inexplicably heavy. He yawned to himself once and drowsily turned page by page.

.

"No progress yet," Sai answered into the phone as he stood in the empty lobby. "An opportunity has yet to present itself." The voice on the phone sounded frustrated and angry but those emotions did not faze him. "It'll get done. I assure you." On the other line the voice became chilly and threatening. "I'll continue to observe and inform you of any change. Now you'll have to excuse me, I believe the night shift is coming and it's passed curfew. I'll report back soon."

.

The hour was late into the night when Hinata told herself it was time to call it a day. Hours had passed from the time Sasuke burst into her room. Hinata rubbed her eyes drowsily and in frustration. The two had spent the majority of the night searching for some sort of clue about whom or why someone would target the Hyuuga. Neither Hinata nor Sasuke knew where to start at first. The Hyuuga were one of four founding families of Konoha and had been established for centuries. That meant several generation's worth of information and interactions with countless people. Sasuke had advised her that the Uchiha had always kept specific records of their negotiations since they too were a founding family. Sure enough, the pair was able to find some documents of the two families' meetings with each other. But the Uchiha clan perished not long after the Hyuuga. Both Hinata and Sasuke figured that his family could not have possibly been involved since the Uchiha should have profited from the vacuum left by the Hyuuga downfall and not meet an end themselves.

 _We're getting nowhere_ , Hinata bit her lip in disappointment.

The deep, steady sound of breathing caught Hinata's attention and she turned to look at Sasuke beside her. He still had papers in his grasp as he slept. Incredulous, Hinata leaned over to see if Sasuke had actually fallen asleep. Turned on his side, Sasuke's chest rose and fell in the telltale signs of slumber. Sasuke looked so uncharacteristically relaxed and somewhat vulnerable. Hinata had never seen him so unguarded before. Sasuke always seemed like a tightly coiled wire ready to flee at a moment's notice. Hinata frowned as she found herself in a difficult predicament: waking Sasuke up so he can return to his room and get some rest. She immediately felt bad for having to disturb him in order get some sleep herself.

"Sasuke," Hinata murmured to get his attention. He was as still as the grave. "Sasuke," she tried squeaking again a little louder. He stirred from the sound and rolled deeper into the bed.

"Ng," he grunted in his sleep.

"You should... go to bed..." she mumbled the words out with a red face.

"I am in bed," she barely heard him grumble into the sheets.

"No," Hinata tried stirring him, "You're in... my bed."

"Mmm, in my bed," Sasuke repeated groggily. Hinata let out a strangled sigh. She was not getting anywhere with him.

Pulling her legs up to her chest, Hinata rested her chin on her knees and pondered what to do as she watched him sleep. From experience she knew he was too heavy for her to drag him back to his room. She did not want to sleep on the floor either. For a moment she contemplated calling one of the on-call staff to help but decided against it due to the trouble they would both get into for staying up past curfew. Stuck, Hinata sighed and buried her head into her arms. Not knowing what else to do Hinata slipped off the bed and gathered all the books and papers that covered the room. She meticulously stacked and organized them by their published year and set the stacks in neat piles under her bed. Saving his papers for last, Hinata leaned over Sasuke to check, again, if he was still indeed sleeping before taking them. Upon studying his sleeping form Hinata pursed her lips and fought with herself on waking him up.

 _He must be so tired_ , she tried reasoning with herself. _He's already sleeping and he hardly gets enough sleep anyway._ Biting her lip one last time, Hinata leaned over to turn the light switch off and tucked herself into bed as far from Sasuke as the bed would permit.

…..

In the mornings, Sasuke always knew three things: one was that his family was dead; two was that something was after him; and three was where he was. But this morning Sasuke's pillow did not have the same scent that it should. The sunlight was also coming from a different direction than normal. Sasuke turned in his bed and froze when he heard a protesting groan. His eyes snapped open in uncertainty and he carefully turned on his side towards the sound. A human-sized pile of blankets was quietly breathing beside him and Sasuke brought a shaky hand towards one of the sheets to peel it back.

Not sure what he was expecting exactly but Hinata's sleeping face was not one of them. Sasuke felt numb and warm all at the same time but he carefully covered her face again as she continued to sleep.

 _When did I fall asleep?_ He tried racking his brain from last night. He remembered being as tired as usual and going through Hinata's family's documents but other than that he drew a blank. As tempting as it was to just stay in the warm bed and fall back into his normally elusive slumber Sasuke decided that he wanted to avoid a confusing and awkward conversation. _I need to get out of here_ , he thought as he slipped from the bed. He ignored the cold tile beneath his feet and silently crept out the room.

Hinata watched him leave out her door with sleepy eyes and bundled herself up in the warmth he had left behind.

…..

Sasuke did manage to avoid an awkward conversation in the morning and the rest of the day. But when he fell asleep in her room the night after, and the night after that, and the night after that, and the night after that, Hinata figured they were beyond discussion at this point. She was getting used to falling sleeping beside him and waking up alone the next morning. What caught Hinata off-guard was the morning she awoke and found Sasuke still in her bed. She had turned on her side as the morning light filtered through the curtains and slowly opened her eyes only to see black. Sasuke blinked slowly and was unfazed even though their faces were inches apart. Hinata, on the other hand, nearly had a heart attack from the proximity.

"Uhm…" she stuttered in shock and embarrassment. Sasuke said nothing as he continued to stare. "Good morning…?" Hinata tried to pass off nonchalantly even though her face was beet red. His face never changed expressions.

"I slept over," he finally spoke half-awake.

"You have been…" Hinata corrected him. Sasuke frowned a little before groaning sleepily and rolling over to his other side. Hinata stared at his back and found nothing to say as he went back to sleep.

…..

"Did you get the new books Shikamaru brought over?" Sasuke asked as he joined Hinata outside Kurenai's office.

"Yes," she answered gloomily. "The last batch didn't say much. I'm not even sure what I'm looking for now…"

"Any rival companies or families you can think of?" Sasuke prompted. "The past few nights I've been going through the research articles your family helped fund over the years. Any rival businesses that might have bore a grudge because of that?"

"… It's difficult to say," Hinata shook her head. "The Hyuuga have been around since the founding of Konoha… That's a long time."

"The Uchiha are just as old," Sasuke pointed out. "But we… it wasn't us."

"I know…" Hinata acknowledged. Both she and Sasuke continued to wait for her session with Kurenai to begin. Kurenai told her that she received positive feedback on Hinata's progression on eye contact and verbal responses from the other staff and patients. Hinata could not help but get incredibly nervous when Kurenai said she waited to go forward with her treatment and take another step towards her goal to see her cousin on Christmas. Not knowing what to expect for her session, Hinata had asked Sasuke if he could join her today. Since he had been regularly sleeping in her room after going through her family's history with her, Hinata had discovered that Sasuke was more likely to agree to things just as he awoke. Hinata figured that it was because he was not a morning person and was still half-asleep when spoken to that early. Still, she was grateful that Sasuke followed through for today.

"Hinata, Sasuke, you can come in now," they heard Kurenai call from her office. Kurenai gestured for them to sit. On top of her desk was a large picture face down. "You've been doing very well Hinata over the past couple weeks. How do you think you've been progressing?"

"Well, I think," Hinata answered truthfully. "I still have to remind myself to answer when people speak to me and I still get… nervous… But I think I'm doing okay."

"Good good," Kurenai jotted down a few notes. "What do you think Sasuke? What are your observations?"

"Like she said," he said vaguely. "She's doing better."

"Great! Then you don't mind if we try something?" Kurenai asked excitedly. "Here," she pointed to the flipped picture, "Is a picture of one of your birthdays that you posed with Neji."

Hinata's face immediately drained of color and her palms broke out in a cold sweat.

"Hinata," Kurenai said in a gentle yet stern voice. "This is what you wanted, remember? If you want to be able to see your cousin on Christmas, which is coming up soon, then you need to be able to look into his eyes." Hinata swallowed the knot in her throat and nervously nodded her head in agreement. Sasuke looked from the picture to her and back again. "I'm glad you brought Sasuke then today. We're just going to have you look at the picture for a few seconds and then work on extending the amount of time you can stare at it. Okay?"

All of her words seemed to abandon her so Hinata nodded instead. Kurenai gave one last encouraging smile and the turned the picture around. Afraid at first, Hinata kept her eyes glued to the wood grain of the desk and then chided herself for her cowardice. Inch by inch her eyes trailed down to look at the picture. Immediately she knew which one of her birthdays it was from. The photograph used to be one that Hinata hung on her bedroom wall because it was her favorite of her and Neji. Hinata traced her eyes along the edges of the photo and avoided looking at her cousin's image smiling in front of her.

 _Come on Hinata_ , she pushed herself. She took one last deep breath and stared straight at his face.

Sasuke could tell the moment Hinata looked at her cousin's picture because her back went ramrod straight and her hands started to tremble. She sucked in a breath a slowly exhaled as best she could but she still hiccupped towards the tail end. It was not hard for him to see the struggle going on once Hinata's eyes began to dart back and forth in panic. Hinata's bottom lip quivered uncontrollable and she bit down on it hard. Sasuke did not know which would draw blood first: her bitten lip or her nails digging into her hands. Her breakdown was seconds away. Sasuke saw her eyes becoming more and more distant as the tears pooled over and streamed down her face.

Sasuke did not know what else to do so he lightly tapped his knuckles against the back of her hand; anything to bring Hinata back to this moment. Hinata gasped from the feather-light touch and blinked away her tears. She was able to look at the picture for a few more seconds and then she slid her eyes closed.

"That's all I can…" she babbled.

"You did great Hinata," Kurenai said and flipped the picture back around. "That went… much better than I thought. Good job Hinata."

Eyes still closed, Hinata nodded her head in acknowledgment. Her hand managed to find the sleeve of Sasuke's shirt and she gripped onto it tightly before she was able to open her eyes again. Sasuke kept his mouth shut and let her cling onto him as they continued.

…..

Danzo stood outside in the snow on the front steps of Konoha Psychiatric Hospital. He took a moment to glare at the high walls and the honorary plaque next to the front door noting the accomplishments that the ward earned over the years. There was no doubt in Danzo's mind that the facility was essential to the welfare of the city. But he snarled from the thought that the ward was housing a patient that would be Konoha's downfall.

 _No one will be safe until that family is gone from this world_ , he reminded himself. Sharp pricks along his arm drew his attention away for a second. He turned around angrily to bark at whoever ran into him but all he saw was a tall Christmas tree.

"Sorry about that!" one of the staff apologized from behind the pine needles. "Could you get the door please?"

"To be decorating only now, isn't that cutting it a little close?" Danzo smoothed over and held open the doors.

"We still have some time until Christmas," the man carrying the tree chuckled. "Although sending me by myself to pick up the tree is kind of troublesome. Thank you!" And the man walked through the lobby straight for the mess hall. Danzo trailed not far behind him into the building.

Danzo checked himself in at the front desk and asked to see Sai. The receptionist informed him that all the staff and patients were in the mess hall decorating for the holidays. Danzo thanked the woman and turned in that direction. The closer he got to the room the louder he could hear Christmas music playing in the background. Unmoved and cold, Danzo pushed open the doors to the large room and spotted Sai off in the corner hanging garland and ribbon across the walls.

"I can hardly recognize the place," Danzo praised as he approached Sai. Putting the glittering garland down, Sai turned and nodded his head respectfully.

"Thank you, sir," he replied.

"I imagine that your particular, artistic talents found use in arranging the decor?" Danzo asked lightly.

"Naturally," Sai smiled.

"Good good," Danzo bent down to pick a wreath and helped Sai with the decorations. It was silent between them as they worked with only a cough here and there escaping Danzo. "I hear a big storm is coming," he mentioned after a few minutes. Sai turned around to check if anyone was near them. Everyone was busy with their own jobs and duties around the room. No one was close by.

"Indeed," Sai finally replied.

"Accidents can happen you know," Danzo remarked darkly. His weathered hands were steady as he posted the wreaths up on the wall.

"So they do," Sai chirped.

"Make sure one happens," Danzo's voice turned to steel.

"Oh?" Sai questioned. Danzo glanced over his shoulder to stare Sai hard in the face.

"Don't waste this opportunity, Sai," he threatened in a low tone. "Her time is long overdue. I want that white-eyed menace taken care of. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Sai smiled pleasantly. It was not hard for him to see how serious Danzo was. Sai could see how the stress of the dilemma was deepening the wrinkles on Danzo's face and making the shadows even more pronounced on his paling skin and bloodshot eyes. "Please rest sir," Sai added, "It's taking a toll on you."

"I'll rest when it is finished," Danzo glared with a hardened heart.

…..

 _Is that guy looking at me strange? His eyes give me the creeps. God it feels like the walls are closing in. How does nobody notice? All of these decorations can be used to kill a man. Did anybody think of that? Like no one's every tried to strangle themselves before with Christmas lights. What a way to go. These white walls and white floors look like they'll swallow me whole. Everyone needs to stop calling my name. Please! Just give me two seconds of quiet!_ Tenten stuffed her mouth with another dumpling and focused on the flavors to calm her down. _Guess that new medication they have me on hasn't kicked in yet_ , she chewed methodically. Looking for a distraction, Tenten turned her head to the patient besides her eating a cinnamon roll.

"That any good?" she asked the other woman. She finished with her bite and delicately put the roll down on the plate. Tenten waited curiously for her to breathe in and then lifted her head up.

"Mhmm," Hinata replied and smiled a little. "Would you like a piece… Tenten?"

"I'll have to pass," Tenten declined. "Too much sugar. So why aren't you decorating with the rest right now?" she flailed her hand around to the hustle and bustle of the mess hall. Apparently, the design Sai had drawn for the place was too complicated to finish in one day and required everyone's work efforts to last for another few days. _Why anyone would listen to a psychopath like Sai escapes me. Juugo should have killed him off ages ago so that we wouldn't have to waste so much time on his damned projects. What if that cinnamon roll was poisoned? That fat cook couldn't have slipped something into the food. Maybe that's why she offered it me? No. no… Tenten, stop. Meds, I need to get new meds._

"I was helping with the flowers but…" Hinata turned her head to the door. "Ino went to get more… Her father's flower truck is outside."

"Sure is nice of him to give all this stuff," Tenten remarked in regards to all of the surrounding holiday cheer.

"Hinata," Sasuke's voice called from behind them.

Hinata turned to acknowledge him when Tenten let out a piercing, terrified shriek. Hinata startled at the sound and looked back around to Tenten. The newly admitted woman wildly pushed back her chair causing herself to fall backwards and scramble across the floor. Her chocolate brown eyes were fixated on the air just above Sasuke's head. What no one else could see was the dark, ominous shadow of hatred and death that clung to his very skin. Fear rooted her to the spot and would not let her rip her gaze away. Thousands of red eyes bulged from the dark air and every single one locked onto her petrified form; there was no mouth but she could feel the shadowy presence smiling at her. All of those blood-red eyes squinted in glee at her terror. Blindly, Tenten grabbed one of the forks that had clattered to the floor and flung herself towards Sasuke.

 _Stop looking at me!_ her thoughts ran rampant, her eyes wild. Tenten would gouge out those horrible eyes with her fingernails if she had to. She was only inches away when a strong pair of arms wrapped around her and stopped her in mid-flight. Suddenly she was flung to the floor and the wind knocked out of her. Like a rabid animal, Tenten scrambled back to her feet and leapt for Sasuke again. A giant body blocked her path and caught her once again.

"LET ME GO!" Tenten screeched at the top of her lungs.

"Tenten, calm down!" her captor yelled and locked her in his arms.

"NO!" she howled. "Juugo, why can't you see it?! He's evil! He's death and he'll kill us all! So **let me go**!" Within seconds the rest of the staff took a hold of her and tore her away from Juugo's arms. In her panicked state it took three men to restrain Tenten and wrestle her out of the mess hall. She screamed all the way.

Everyone in the room kept quiet after Tenten's sudden outburst. The Christmas music was out of place as it played in the background.

"Everyone alright?" Naruto asked loudly and his voice echoed through the room. No one answered but he knew that they just did not know how to continue on after that. "Cool! So, uh, Lee! Can you help me with these lights? Gotta check if all the bulbs work, you know?" Thanks to Naruto's intervention, everyone slowly resumed their work.

"I apologize for Tenten's behavior just now," Juugo turned to Sasuke. The Uchiha still had a bewildered expression on his face and he looked questioningly passed to Hinata. She was just as confused as he was. "She has trouble recognizing what's real."

"Hinata! Can you help me with these flowers?" Ino called from across the room. Hinata looked back and forth between Juugo and Sasuke before running off to help.

"You know her?" Sasuke asked the fellow patient.

"We came here with Sai," Juugo told him. "Moved from place to place a couple of times together. But I haven't seen her like that in a long time."

"Juugo," Yamato walked up to the two men. "I'm sorry to pull you away like this but I need you to come with me. I need to fill out an incident report for Tenten." Juugo nodded in compliance and bowed apologetically again to Sasuke.

"Sasuke, dude, the bows?" Naruto reminded him of his original task. Sasuke did not move from his spot and replayed the last few minutes over in his head.

 _She saw something_ , Sasuke thought to himself. Naruto came bounding up to his side and pushed a large box into his arms. Sasuke walked half-aware of his actions as he placed the box down and pulled out the ribbon. _When she looked at me, she saw something…_ Sasuke could not get that thought out of his head. Tenten was terrified. But rather than being afraid of him, Tenten seemed like she had been seeing **through** him at something else. From across the hall, Hinata turned back around to look at Sasuke. He was moving slowly to tie the ribbon together properly and his gestures were stiff and lacked concentration. Sasuke had a far off look in his eye and Hinata bit her lip as she watched.

"I'm…" she began and Ino hummed in response. "I'm going to go…" Hinata spoke quietly, "I'm going to go help Sasuke." Hinata did not wait for an answer from Ino and put the flowers down to walk back.

Sasuke's hands balled in fists as he subconsciously gripped the red-velvet bow tighter and tighter. The protesting crinkle of the ribbon failed to reach his ears and grab his attention. As if in a daze, he bunched and knotted the bow between his fingers and around his knuckles. He was ensnared by the deep red color flowing across his fair skin like blood. Blood. Visions of his blood soaked hands from that night flashed before his eyes. He never knew red could be that brilliant and terrifying. Shattered glass and drops of red decorated the ground when he watched his brother burn. He could no longer recall if the air was cold that night because he only felt icy tendrils of fear and emptiness suffocating him from the inside out. Fire and blood and screams and shadows and eyes and death and -

Small hands gently wrapped themselves around his and their warmth caused him to blink out of his short-lived trance.

Hinata peeked up at him through her bangs and hoped that her touch would bring him back to the present. His cloudy eyes came back into focus and fixed themselves upon hers in a mixture of confusion and relief. Taking a deep breath as if roused from a deep sleep, Sasuke glanced downwards at their entwined hands. His knuckles began to turn white and he was now aware of his nails digging into the skin of his palms. For some reason he could not let go. So instead, he focused his attention to the slender fingers curled delicately around his. Hinata's hands were much smaller than Sasuke's in comparison but just as fair. Where his skin was rough and scarred hers was smooth and supple. But it was the heat of her skin that mystified him; he was so cold inside but her warmth seemed to seep into his very bones.

Gradually, his hands finally relaxed from their fisting and the velvet bow slipped through his fingers and into her waiting hands. Gingerly, Hinata slid the ribbon from his grasp and it took a couple of moments for him to bring his hands back down to his sides.

"Sorry," he mumbled in quiet embarrassment. Hinata brought her eyes to the ground and shook her head.

"No need to apologize," she stated slowly. "You're okay."

 _Am I?_ Sasuke questioned himself.

…..

It was Sasuke's turn to watch Hinata fall asleep. The book she had been reading rested beneath her chin and Sasuke carefully peeled it from her hands. Hinata stirred a little from the movement but she remained sleeping. Sasuke shook his head at her unguarded state. He threw the covers over her and leaned across to turn off the light.

 _I should head back to my own room_ , Sasuke thought as he sat on top of the blankets. _But I can actually get some sleep when I'm over here_. A heavy storm had rolled in during the evening and the thick, overhanging clouds settled in the sky to deposit layers and layers of snow. The clouds did not permit any light from the moon to peek through but the snow did allow for some scattered light to bounce around the walls of the facility. The dim glow cast strange shadows across Hinata's face and Sasuke took the rare moment to study her features. When he and Hinata first met, she was a sickly-looking woman. She was thin and pale and empty. Sasuke thought Hinata was a ghost when he first saw her. She might as well have been one for how she acted: like air. _But now_ , Sasuke pondered. Deep, slow breaths came out and Hinata's lips fell slightly open. Sasuke did not know Hinata personally from before they were both admitted to Konoha Psychiatric Hospital but he knew this was the most **alive** she had been in a long time since coming here. Hinata's eyelashes were thick and cast light gray shadows upon her soft cheeks. Her lips were no longer pale and had returned to a warm, pink shade.

"What am I doing?" Sasuke questioned himself as he raked a hand through his messy hair. He turned, embarrassed, away from her so he could face the window. It was faint, but Sasuke could just make out his reflection from the glass; he refused to acknowledge any heat in his face. As a distraction, Sasuke instead stared at his own reflection. The bags under his eyes were not completely gone but they were at least no longer purple. He also noted that his ebony eyes were clearer and sharper than they had been recently. "Sleep," Sasuke reasoned with himself. His eyes wandered over to Hinata's sleeping reflection in the glass. Except she was not sleeping. And someone was on top of her.

Time stopped. Sasuke could not move and he could not look away.

Sasuke could not hear the breathy moans that he was seeing but see them he did: Hinata wrapping her arms around the person's neck and lacing her thin fingers through his hair. Sasuke could see her gasping and writhing as she was kissed deeply but the world around him was muted. He saw her flip on top and move her way down the person's body. The person was him – Sasuke.

Perplexed, Sasuke finally turned around behind him and saw Hinata fast asleep in the same position as before. No one was with her, under her. She was still sleeping. Sasuke looked back at his reflection in the window and saw his eyes bled into a brilliant red color. The reflection smiled back at him.

He slipped off the bed with urgently.

"No," Sasuke whispered to himself and clenched his jaw. "I need air," he spoke and walked out of Hinata's room. Hinata rolled, still sleeping, deeper under the covers.

.

 _Hinata._ _  
_  
The night was silent as snow continued to fall outside coating the grounds in thick, powder-white layers.

 _Hinata._ _  
_  
The window latch slowly began to turn and clicked once it unlocked. Warm in her bed, Hinata stirred in her sleep at the sound.

 _Hinata._ _  
_  
A cold blast of air suddenly rushed into the room as the window was thrown open. Hinata jumped in her bed and scrambled to shut the window closed again. Groggily, her fingers kept slipping on the panes from the melted snow before finally shutting the window closed. A deep shiver coursed through her as she dusted the last bits of snow and ice off her bed. Hinata turned back to the window again in confusion and wondered how it opened in the first place. She carefully ran her fingers over the latch and tested it a few times making sure it was locking correctly.

 _Okay..._ she furrowed her brow and traced the panes with her eyes. Finding no explanation, Hinata rubbed the sleep from her eyes and lazily watched the snow fall in large flakes that collected outside. With a blind hand she felt around the bed for Sasuke but found the other side empty and warm. _He must have left not long ago_ , she figured as she took in the sight of her ruffled sheets.

 _Hinata._ _  
_  
Hinata turned at the sound of her name. It came from outside the window but Hinata was confused because she felt herself being called rather than actually hearing it. Crawling over to the head of the bed, Hinata wearily peered outside the window. All the branches on the trees and bushes hung low with thick clumps of snow atop and the grass was completely buried beneath soft, white banks. The wind howled lowly and shaped small peaks amongst the ice and snow. Hinata always loved winter snowstorms but something in the air felt wrong. Movement in the thicket caught her eye and she blinked to focus her sight. A dark figure was standing outside just within the tree line and his figure was shrouded in darkness.

"Sasuke?!" Hinata squeaked in recognition. _What is he doing out in the storm?_ Hinata pressed her face closer to the cold glass and tried to gesture for him to come back inside. He shook his head and lifted his hand to beckon her outside to join him. "What?" she murmured in confusion but he retreated further into the trees before she could shake her head no. Torn, Hinata glanced back and forth between the door and her window several times before reaching for her sweater with a worried sigh.

Slipping out of her room was a simple task as she waited for the nightly rounds to pass. Hinata carefully crept from hall to hall and gently closed every door without a sound to avoid suspicion. As she approached the last door to the gardens, the only thing separating her from the freezing cold, Hinata took a deep breath and wrapped her sweater tighter around herself before walking out into the storm.

"Sasuke!" Hinata called out as she wandered around the snow-covered grounds. The moment she had stepped outside the wind picked up and everything got coated in white, bleaching the world of color. The snowflakes and flurries swirled violently around her and whipped her hair around her face. "Sasuke!" she called out again and looked around for his familiar figure. _Where did you go?_ she thought as she warmed her hands with her breath. The snow began to cling to her hair and clothes and she had to wipe it off every few seconds to fight off the cold. A shadow passed behind her.

"Hinata."

She spun around from the sound of her name and he stood a few feet in front of her.

"Sasuke," she sighed with relief. "What are you doing out here?" Hinata jogged to his side and met his gaze confused. His face remained blank as he held out his hand for her.

"Follow me," he said. The tenor of his voice sent unnerving chills down her spine. "There's something I want to show you." The unease in her gut screamed for her attention but she kept searching for answers in his coal black eyes. Their dark depths revealed nothing. Hinata glanced down at his outstretched hand and hers hesitated in midair. Something was off; she could feel it. He did not give her the chance to back out as he grabbed her hand halfway. "We have to hurry," he called out over his shoulder as he pulled her further into the storm. The snow and wind grew stronger.

.

Shikamaru stood in contemplation outside of Hinata's door. The information inside his manila folder felt like it was going to burn his skin. He groaned and scratched his head awkwardly. This was a conversation he was not looking forward to. Sometimes he wished he could keep his nose out of other people's business but the moment he stumbled upon this he knew he could not keep it to himself. Hinata and Sasuke both deserved to know.

"What are you doing here?"

Shikamaru turned his head to the side and saw Sasuke quickly approaching from down the hall.

"I could say the same to you," Shikamaru argued sarcastically. "But I'm not sure I want to know."

"Like you're one to talk," Sasuke scoffed and stopped in front of him. "What's that?" he gestured to the folder in Shikamaru's hands.

"Something you both need know," Shikamaru replied cryptically with a frown. "I did a little more digging and found some financial records between your families. Did you know that?"

"They were both founding families with a long history together," Sasuke shrugged. "Everyone knows that."

"Okay," Shikamaru nodded, "Did you also know most of your family's success was due to military weaponry research and trading." Sasuke furrowed his brow puzzled.

"We had a few ties in law enforcement but military..." he trailed.

"The Hyuuga were most known for, I know," Shikamaru continued. "Nearly all transactions were done in their name but there were several, large payments from an anonymous donator in tandem to those purchases and this dates back..." Shikamaru opened the folder and quickly skimmed the pages, "for decades. It matches the same timeline as the Uchiha building up their successful investments."

"What are you trying to say?" Sasuke asked uneasily and his stomach tied in knots.

"Both of your families had a long-standing presence in Konoha in a lot of ways and they both burned plenty of bridges to get to where they were," Shikamaru started. "But the Hyuuga died after their last big contribution to warfare research..."

"You keep dancing around the topic," Sasuke snarled. "If you got something to then just say it." Shikamaru's face hardened and he grit his teeth.

"I think the Hyuuga took the fall for the Uchiha," he admitted in a tight voice. "And I think the people that killed Hinata's family didn't know it was the Uchiha they were after." That stopped Sasuke right in his tracks and the blood in his veins ran cold. Shikamaru let out a deep sigh and grimaced from the tone he used. "And Hinata deserves to know," he finished quickly and turned the knob open to her room.

 _What?_ Sasuke repeated over and over and over in his head. Time froze all around him and the world fell silent upon his deaf ears. _What?_ His ebony eyes darted back and forth across the tiled floor in refusal and disbelief. _No_ , he shook his head. _No. There's no way. He knows nothing about the Uchiha. Nothing! The Hyuuga taking the fall for the Uchiha? So what, it's_ _ **my**_ _family's fault that the Hyuuga died because of some crazy person's misunderstanding?! No. No! What does it matter anyway? They're dead. Everyone is dead!_

"-suke! Sasuke!" Shikamaru's voice cut through his raging thoughts. "Where's Hinata?"

"What do you mean 'where's Hinata?'" Sasuke pushed passed Shikamaru through the door and into her room. The bed was empty. "Hinata?" Sasuke murmured. He scanned the small room in a futile attempt in case she was simply overlooked. He strode up to the ruffled sheets and placed a hand on them: they were cold. _Where?_ he wondered and his heart began to race in panic.

 _I'll find you._

Sasuke turned his head towards the window and wiped away the fog on the glass. At first, all he saw was the white of the snow. But off in the distance he saw two people walking deeper into the snowstorm. One of them was Hinata. The other person was covered in shadow. Sasuke blinked a couple of times to try and focus better and he leaned in closer to the window. The other person titled their head in his direction and flashes of fire and blood rushed through Sasuke's mind. Even from so far away, Sasuke saw the glow of red eyes and a sinister smile.

"No," he whispered and sprinted out the room.

"Sasuke!" Shikamaru shouted at him.

"She's outside!" Sasuke screamed back.

.

Cold. His hands were colder than the falling snow or the rushing wind. Hinata's mind was screaming at her to leave and head back to the building but she stubbornly silenced those thoughts. Hinata was not afraid of Sasuke… But she was scared now.

"Sasuke," Hinata called over the howling storm. Her teeth chattered loudly from the freezing cold and her lips became more and more numb. "Where are we going?"

"Not much further," he promised over his shoulder. His grip tightened and Hinata winced from the pain. Her fingers ached and throbbed from the freezing temperature. The snow that whipped around her drenched the sweater she was wearing and Hinata was overcome by violent shivers. She could not take much more.

"Sasu— " Hinata started to whimper.

"Here!" he suddenly stopped walking and spun around to face her. "Look," he motioned upwards with his chin. Hinata stared at him puzzled for a moment but eventually followed his gaze. Right above them hung a thin stretch of cloud and the moon peeked out every few seconds. Hinata blinked away the snowflakes collecting on her eyelashes to get a better look. The moon was a deep crimson color that she had never seen before.

"It's red," Hinata murmured softly in confusion.

"A blood moon," he explained. "Some people believe it precedes the end of time like some sort of bad omen. Fools," he finished and aside Hinata's wet bangs from her eyes. She flinched from the unexpected, intimate contact. He said nothing from her reaction and simply smiled. "I wanted to you especially to see it. As a thank you of sorts."

"Thank me for what?" Hinata shivered and wrapped her arms around herself in a trivial attempt to get warm.

"Did I ever tell you about my family?" he asked instead. "And how much I **hated** them. The whole lot of them." Hinata frowned in suspicion and wrinkled her brow. The feeling in her lips was now long gone and she hesitantly shook her head. "They were liars, traitors," he continued further. He tucked a strand of Hinata's hair behind her ear as an afterthought and she squirmed uncomfortably from the touch. "They even turned against their own flesh and blood. Did you know that? All of our principles of family and honor. Trash. All of it."

"Sasuke…" she chattered and her voice was laced with worry.

"I was ecstatic the moment they all died…" he took a step closer to her and she subconsciously took a step back. Hinata underestimated the numbness in her limbs and she stumbled backwards. He caught her before she fell and pressed her close into his body. "Well, not **all** of them died of course."

 _Cold,_ Hinata thought. There was no warmth in his hold or frame; he seemed colder than the storm around her and chilled her to the bone. Those lifeless, black eyes studied her chattering and shivering form and he sneered. As if to torture her more from this exposure, he pulled her in closer and wrapped his arms tightly around her body. The shiver that went down her spine had nothing to do with the storm. Her heart picked up its pace in fear.

"I don't know what I would do with myself if you were gone," he buried his nose into her chilled hair. Hinata was too cold to move away and could only tremble. "You know, I'm positively sure I would **die** if I were separated from you." His fingers dug painfully into her back and sides and Hinata choked a whimper. "I'm so glad you came into my life. After what happened to my family, I didn't think I could ever be happy again. I didn't think I could ever feel alive again."

 _I… can't…_ Hinata struggled to think and tried to wrestle out of the arms binding her. It was as if death itself was holding her. He pulled back to look at the flushed face and blue lips. He slowly inched his face closer to hers until his lips hovered a whisper away from hers. "But then you came into the picture," his eyes smothered her and for a brief second she was finally able to see into them. She saw hatred. "I can't thank you enough for what you've done, Hinata."

Black irises bled into red and Hinata's eyes widened from the change. His eyes were the color of blood with three tomoe swirling in their depths. The strength in Hinata's legs suddenly gave out and her mind slipped in and out of consciousness.

 _No, not like this,_ she fought to no avail. _I need to… stay awake. Neji… I still need to see him. I can't..._ Hinata felt herself being lowered onto the snow covered ground as darkness overtook her vision.

"He won't let you die," a pleased, deep voice rang in her ears. "Sasuke knows you're not the one I came for."

The white world around her turned to black.

.

"Hinata!" Sasuke screamed.

Over and her over her name carried off in the violent wind. There was white. White everywhere. White all around him. White. "Hinata!" Sasuke screamed again. His eyes darted back and forth for any sign of her. A footprint, a figure, anything. But he could see nothing. He could find nothing. The storm surrounded him.

" _ **Found you**_ _…_ " a clear, deep voice cut from behind.

Sasuke immediately froze. The howls of the wind died off and faded in the background. All sounds faded away in that moment and time stood still. Sasuke blinked and watched the snowflakes hover in the air as his breath puffed in soft clouds. White became stained red. Blood seeped into the endless banks of snow and a dark shadow fell upon him. Sasuke could do nothing.

 _Run run run run run run run run run…_ his mind flat lined. Sasuke's face distorted in terror as he felt the suffocating weight of its presence behind him. He wanted to run but he could not. He wanted to turn but he could not. Squeezing his eyes shut, Sasuke tried to regain control of his breathing but he could not stop hyperventilating. It found him. It found him… Sasuke reopened his eyes and let felt his dread and misery come to a focal point and drown him. What point was there in running anymore? It found him. Sasuke had nothing. He lifted his black eyes, took a deep breath, and spun around.

Hinata was buried beneath a few layers of snow not far from him.

"Hinata!" Sasuke yelled in surprise and ran to her side. He lifted her up into his arms and saw that she was unconscious. "No," he whispered. "No! Come on. Wake up. Wake up! Hinata! Hinata! Can you hear me?! Wake up!"

Hinata twitched lightly from the sound of his voice. It felt like her ears were filled with cotton and her numbing mind churned slowly. Her eyelids felt heavy as lead and she did not have the strength to open them fully. Over and over she heard her name being called out. But when she finally cracked open her eyes all she saw was night.

"Sasuke," he barely heard her mumble. "It's really you."

"Hinata," he yelled louder when her eyes slipped closed again. "No no no! I need you stay with me. Hinata!"

"Mmm," she groaned in response.

"Sasuke!" he heard Shikamaru shout. A few moments later he was by their side accompanied by Shino and Rock Lee. "Hypothermia," Shikamaru confirmed from her blue lips and the return of her violent shivering. Shino reached to carry her but Sasuke pulled her tighter in his arms.

"I've got her," he growled.

"Sasuke she needs to get medical attention right now!" Shino barked.

"I said I've got her!" Sasuke shouted back.

"Fine!" Shikamaru intercepted. "Sasuke, be careful when moving her. We don't want her going into cardiac arrest. Now let's go!"

Sasuke tucked Hinata's head under his chin and hoisted her up to carry her. On pure instinct she curled her face deeper into his neck to get closer to the heat radiating off his body. Sasuke hissed but did not pull his head away even though she was as cold as ice. He walked as quickly as he could without jostling her. As soon as the doors were open, Sasuke pushed his way inside and went straight to the health clinic without waiting for the others. Making sure to place her gently on the bed, Sasuke immediately grabbed several blankets and extra clothes from the cabinets and then proceeded to remove Hinata's wet clothing. He had no time to be embarrassed as he discarded the sopping wet pieces; Hinata was completely soaked.

"Hinata," Sasuke called in a loud voice as he dried her off with a towel and struggled to put the dry clothing on, "You still with me?" A strained groan was his only response but it at least informed him she was still conscious. Sasuke hardly noticed when the rest of the staff and doctors came into the clinic and tended to Hinata. He was not going anywhere, not when her ice-cold hand found his and refused to let go.

…..

"Hello, sir," Sai spoke into the phone.

 _'Is it done?'_ Danzo's asked on the other line.

"I'm afraid not," Sai admitted.

 _'What...'_ Danzo's voice dropped. It was low and controlled but brimmed with anger.

"I was..." Sai recounted the events from the previous night. "Distracted."

 _'You failed,'_ Danzo corrected. _'Sai,'_ Danzo started and paused to cough. _'I'm tired of your excuses,'_ he coughed again.

"Sir?" Sai questioned about the persistent cough.

 _'Don't think we're finished,'_ Danzo warned. _'I will contact you in a few days time.'_ And the line went silent.

.

"I wasn't expecting much from the Sabaku this time around, but Sai?!" Danzo growled under his breath as he dialed another number on a disposable phone. "Sai! For **him** to fail me as well..." he waited for the other person to pick up the phone. "I better not hear any more bad news," Danzo spoke once the line was active. "What is the state of the puppeteer?" he asked and nodded in relief from the answer. The other person made an inquiry that soured Danzo's face. "Alive" he answer in a disappointed snarl. "We cannot wait any longer. I want that family, the Hyuuga, gone from this world!" he vented. "It was said long ago: 'One of the founding families built their legacy on bloodshed and deceit. When they reach the height of their success they must fall.' A family like that cannot be allowed to continue their ways; they will bring death and war upon Konoha. I took it upon myself to fulfill that promise to keep our city safe and still -" Danzo could not keep his anger contained, "Still that Hyuuga lives!" he stopped to cough fervently into his hand. The person on the other line asked a question ad Danzo shook his head. "No," he replied. "I'm taking care of this myself. My patience has reached its end." He paused for a second for the other person to speak. "Make sure he's never found," he answered coldly and cleared his throat again. Danzo seethed and hung up the phone.

He imagined himself sweeping his desk clear in anger and frustration. His bloodlust and fury were almost indescribable. Were his position and image not at stake, Danzo would be more than content to walk up the steps of Konoha Psychiatric Hospital and put a bullet between those white eyes.

 _How hard is it to kill one little girl?!_ he burned inside. _The Hyuuga had their time. The liars and cheats! All of them!_ Danzo pushed his seat away from his desk and walked towards the mirror on the other side of his office.

Several prestigious awards and plaques occupied most of the wall space. Danzo dedicated his life to Konoha and its upkeep. In his mind, Konoha would have fallen to ruin hundreds of times if it were not for his interference. He took a close step in front of the floor-length mirror and studied his aged features.

 _I'll be damned before I let something happen to this city,_ he breathed deeply and cleared his throat. _The Hyuuga should have known their end was nearing. How long did they think I would overlook their perversion and terroristic dealings. I eliminated them as a threat to Konoha just like it was foretold. But that one girl..._ Danzo snarled at his reflection. _That girl alone could destroy everything. So long as the power of the Hyuuga main family resides in her hands, Konoha will never be safe. I need to -_ he paused in mid-thought. His head suddenly felt heavy and he swayed dizzily.

"What?" he groaned and squeezed his eyes shut in dull pain. He felt something wet and warm drip over his mouth and onto the floor. Danzo swiped a finger under his nose and studied the blood on his fingertips. "No..." he whispered and looked back up to his reflection. Two, bright-red lines of blood trailed from his nose and over his lips and chin. It was in that moment Danzo finally took closer notices of his weakened state. He pressed his face up to the glass in disbelief and horror. When could this have happened? How did he not recognize the symptoms? "No!" his shout cut off into another fit of coughs. He pressed his bloodied hand against the mirror to keep himself upright. Danzo's sight was blurring dangerously in and out.

 _No. Not yet...!_ he thought before falling unconscious to the floor.

...

"ACHOO!"

"That's what you get for running off into the snow," Hinata heard Sasuke deadpan. She turned her head to the side on the pillow and saw him standing against her doorframe.

"Sasuke," she smiled weakly. He closed the door behind him and pulled the extra blanket off a nearby chair. Hinata leaned up in bed to sit more comfortably to face him. "I don't need another one," she remarked sheepishly as he threw the blanket over her and sat down in the chair by her bedside.

"You almost froze to death and got a cold because of it," Sasuke looked at her unconvinced. "You need to get better if you want to see your cousin tomorrow. Wouldn't want you sneezing all over his face." A breathy giggle was his answer. He shook his head with a smirk and leaned back in the chair to look at her. The tip of her nose was red and her lavender eyes were a little tired but she seemed relatively fine.

"I'm okay," she reassured him when she saw his eyes sweep over her.

"A bit reversed from last time, huh," he pointed out quietly.

"Yea," she agreed softly. The coal, black depths of Sasuke's eyes peered into Hinata's soft, lavender eyes. The quiet pair found each other's eyes especially easy to read. In a small part of her mind, Hinata chastised herself for not realizing sooner that the person she saw that night was not Sasuke. Hinata knew Sasuke's eyes; she should have known better.

As the seconds ticked by silently, Sasuke watched her milky eyes cloud over in remorse and puzzlement. When he and the staff brought Hinata back inside to bring her temperature back up that night, no one asked her what had happened. Her health was the focus. Soon enough, another investigation took place but she had been incredibly vague and cryptic about what happened. Sasuke heard the staff discussing that the hypothermia may have had a role in her memory but Sasuke thought otherwise. He could see it in the way she looked at him differently. And besides, he knew what HE had seen that night as well.

"Something happened out there, didn't it," he shot point blank. Her eyes thickened in worry and she hesitated before saying anything.

"I saw..." she trailed and bit her lip anxiously. The moments were tense in her silence.

"Hinata," Sasuke spoke softly and leaned in closer. He saw a reluctant fear in her ivory eyes. "What did you see?"

"You," she admittedly murmured. "I saw you... out in the snow."

"Me?" he repeated and knotted his brow. "But I never went outside until we saw **you** out there."

"I know," Hinata looked down at her lap. "It wasn't until later when I figured it out."

"So you saw someone that looked like me?" Sasuke pushed further.

"No," she shook her head and brought her eyes back up. "It was you but... it wasn't YOU."

"Well what happened after?" Sasuke tried a different approach.

"A lot of things..." Hinata's face instantly flushed from her memories and Sasuke paled in comparison. "No!" she quickly argued and waved her hands back and forth, "Nothing like that! But he said... well... he talked about your family, the Uchiha." Sasuke's mouth shut in a tight grimace and Hinata paused, torn if she should tell him what she heard. "He said that your family did a lot of... horrible things in the past and that it was a good thing that they were all dead. Something about deserving what had happened to them and -" Hinata stopped abruptly. "Sasuke?"

"It spoke to you...?" he whispered in shock and dropped his gaze down. Hinata leaned closer towards the edge of her bed.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?" she moved to hang her legs off the bed. The tile was cold beneath her feet and she winced at the feeling. Her small hiss brought him back out of it.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke snapped and scooped her legs up onto the bed and under the covers. "You're supposed to stay warm."

"Sasuke," Hinata tried again as he avoided the topic and did not look her in the eye. She stopped his fretting by placing her hand over his. Sasuke recoiled from the touch and Hinata tried to hide her pain from his reaction. "Sasuke, I want to help," she choked with a red face. "You've helped me so much already and I..." she did not know what else to say.

 _It's my fault,_ his thoughts raced. Sasuke glanced up at her and saw Hinata's face getting more upset by the second. She was so innocent. Her kind words and demeanor were almost too much for him. All of a sudden, the weight of Sasuke's previous conversation with Shikamaru came rushing back to him. The thought of the Uchiha inadvertently causing the downfall of the Hyuuga knocked the wind right out of him. That knowledge finally sank into his skin and Sasuke felt sullied and unfit to be beside her. What ate him up inside even worse was knowing that everything that happened to her family, that got her institutionalized, that had her targeted, that tried to kill her in the storm was his fault. Massacre aside, the Uchiha curse was real and now dragged her into his life of running and terror. _Everything is my fault._

"I should go," Sasuke stood up to leave and his bangs shielded his rueful expression.

"But...!" Hinata stuttered as he made his way towards the door. Just as Sasuke pulled open the door to exit, her hand shot out from behind him and slammed it closed. Numbly, he tugged on the knob but Hinata pressed her weight into her hand keeping it shut. Hinata watched as Sasuke's shoulders sagged in defeat. "Please don't go," she whispered and her face burned at the request.

"Hinata," Sasuke began.

"I need you," she mumbled and Sasuke clenched his jaw to slow the beating of his heart. "I'm sorry if I upset you and I'm sorry for saying sorry all the time," Hinata continued. "But please don't leave like this..." In the moment of vulnerability, Hinata gently pressed her forehead into small area of Sasuke's back between his shoulder blades. She felt him tense for a second and then his shoulders relaxed back down. For a moment Hinata wondered if he could feel the heat radiating from her cheeks. He did not. Sasuke worried if she heard the pounding in his chest. She did not.

"Hinata..." Sasuke broke the silence.

"I mean!" Hinata buried her face further into his back in embarrassment to try and hide. "Neji's coming tomorrow!" she muffled and stuttered into his shirt. "I can't do this without you. I uh, not without you but I mean, uhm..." Hinata kept tripping over her words and her mind screamed for her to just stop talking. Sasuke chuckled sadly at her antics.

"Liar," he replied after a moment.

"Wha?" Hinata gasped. Sasuke took his hand off the doorknob to turn around and face her.

"You don't need me to see him," he answered with a small grin and leaned against the door. Being so close, he could see the difference in her expression. She was more confident now with a resolve as strong as iron. Whatever she went through in that storm, whether it be the near-death experience or the brief glimpse into his family's tragic history, changed her. "But I'll be there tomorrow," he promised. Sasuke could not tell her about their families. Not yet. He was being selfish and he knew it. Sasuke did not want to let her go just yet. He just could not.

…..

"Merry Christmas Gaara," Temari said as she sat down beside him and handed him a gift.

"Thank you Temari," Gaara accepted and handed her one as well. "Where's Kankuro?"

"You know him," Temari winced and put on a convincing act to mask her worry. "He got caught up at work."

"Mmm," Gaara acknowledged, "So he wasn't able to take the day off then."

"Yea," she answered in a shaky voice and bit her lip to keep it from trembling. Instead she tried to focus on her youngest brother and managed a tight laugh from watching him struggle to unwrap her present. When a heavy hand landed on her shoulder she half expected it to be Shikamaru.

"Man Gaara!" a deep, familiar voice laughed. "Just rip the paper! It's not like we want to save it for later."

"Kankuro," Gaara called with a smile in voice.

Immediately Temari spun around in shock to see her younger brother. Her teal eyes roamed over him in disbelief and took in all of the scratches and bruises that covered his neck and face. He was thinner than when she last saw him and looked beyond tired but he wore a happy and relaxed smile. There was no way for Temari to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes.

"Merry Christmas Gaara," Kankuro gave his signature grin and knelt beside his siblings.

"Temari said you wouldn't be able to make it today," Gaara questioned. Temari blinked away her tears and fumbled to find a good excuse but Kankuro put a hand on her knee to cut her off.

"She didn't tell you but the theatre went on tour for a while," he lied smoothly. "I wasn't sure if we'd be in a city close by so I told her not to wait up. But I got lucky this weekend and was able to make it today."

Unable to contain the joy and relief anymore, Temari threw her arms around her brothers in a bone-crushing embrace. They both half-heartedly voiced their protests but returned her embrace all the same. Across the room she saw Shikamaru near the door watching them with a satisfied grin on his face. "Thank you," she mouthed silently. His smile grew a little bigger as he shrugged back. Walking out of the mess hall, Shikamaru reached into his pocket for a toothpick when he saw Neji approaching. He offered the Hyuuga one but he shook his head in refusal. Shikamaru made sure the door was closed all the way before gesturing Neji to follow him around the corner.

"Looks like you found him without a hitch," Shikamaru remarked.

"A few bumps along the way but you were right about where to look," Neji answered. "How about you? Did you get to the root of the problem?"

"Meh," Shikamaru shrugged and smirked darkly. "People get sick all the time this season. I wouldn't be surprised if it makes the news in the next few days," he answered cryptically. "Your cousin got caught in the snowstorm a couple days ago," he informed Neji. Neji's face immediately darkened and tensed as he darted around the corner. Shikamaru lifted his hand up in reassurance before Neji was able to enter the hall. "Don't worry. She's fine now. A mild case of hypothermia and a cold were the worst of it. Well..." Shikamaru trailed off as he opened the door back into the mess hall. He pointed Neji towards the fireplace where Hinata and Sasuke were sitting. "Maybe not the worst," he teased.

.

"Your cousin's here," Sasuke mentioned to Hinata as he turned back around and settled back on the couch. "Ready?"

Hinata balled her fists together and tugged the blanket around her tighter.

"Yes," she nodded with quiet determination. Sasuke waited beside her until Neji reached their fireside couch and then he excused himself. "Merry Christmas Neji," Hinata called out first when she heard him sit on the couch behind hers.

"Merry Christmas Hinata," Neji replied warmly. He detected the slight sniffle in her voice and furrowed his brow in concern. "How are you feeling? I heard you were out in the snow a few days ago."

"I'm okay now," she softly confirmed. "Everyone is…making sure I stay warm."

"Good," Neji nodded. "What happened?"

"Uhm," she hesitated. She had not told anyone but Sasuke what she saw that night in fear of their disbelief. It would have to be a secret between her and Sasuke; no one else could know what she saw. "I thought I saw someone… in the snow. I went out to help them but…" and she stopped there. The air between them thickened with many unanswered questions but Neji chose not to push the subject on her further.

"But you're alright now?" he asked to double check.

"Mmm," she nodded even though she knew he could not see it. Her heart began to pound deeply in her chest as she picked up the small gift by her side. "I have some presents for you… Neji," she whispered behind her. She swallowed the lump in her throat as her mouth ran dry.

"Oh?" he said surprised. He did not expect her to get him anything. Hinata used to give out many gifts to people without occasion just because she enjoyed doing so but that was such a long time ago. Once she was admitted to the psychiatric ward, many of her old hobbies and mannerisms faded away understandingly so. He accepted that long ago and did not expect more.

"Mhmm," she confirmed. "Let me get them. I'll be back…" And she got up out of her seat.

Neji waited patiently for her to return and studied the colorful décor of the room. The curtains were closed to let the Christmas lights sparkle in the mess hall. Garland, poinsettias and ornaments lined every inch of the walls. He imagined that Hinata and the other patients helped the staff decorate the ward and smirked when he thought about the creative discord that must have occurred. He was so lost in his reverie that he almost missed the small tap on his shoulder.

"Here Neji," Hinata called to him and presented her small gift to his side.

"Thank you Hina - " he turned to reach for her present and found her kneeling beside him. Her lavender eyes glowed up at him warmly in the firelight. Neji froze like a deer in headlights before squeezing his eyes shut and covering them with his hand. "Hinata I'm so sorry!" he sputtered in fear. Her small hands reached up and pulled his hand away from his face but he kept his eyes firmly closed.

"Neji," she whispered. "It's okay."

He grimaced and shook his head; he was too afraid to face her.

"Neji… please…"

A taut frown scrunched on his face as her words repeated on and on in his mind. Neji took a deep breath and hesitantly opened his eyes. Her face was the first thing he saw. Hinata knelt in front of him so that they were eye-level and kept her eyes locked on his. He could not remember the last time he had looked at her like this. Neji took the chance to study the subtle changes on her face that he was unable to notice before. She was thinner and paler than he remembered but the same gentle demeanor was still there. Thick tears began to pool in her lavender eyes and Neji's face immediately drained of color.

"No no," Hinata sniffled with a relieved smile on her face and her cheeks turning a delightful shade of pink. "I'm not upset," she reassured him. "I'm just… really happy right now." Hinata brought her hands up to trace the familiar lines of her cousin's face as the tears began to stream down her cheeks. Overcome with emotion, Neji choked up at his cousin's touch and he tried so hard to bite back his own tears. Not a moment too soon did Hinata pull him into her embrace and wept joyfully into his shoulder. "Neji," she hiccupped, "I've missed you so much." He said nothing as he wrapped his arms around her tighter. They were both shaking.

.

"Well done, Sasuke," Kakashi came to stand beside him. The therapist joined Sasuke in watching the two Hyuugas reunite.

"I didn't do anything," Sasuke shook his head without looking away. "It was all her."

"You don't give yourself enough credit," Kakashi glanced out of the corner of his eye. He could tell that Sasuke was somehow softer. Kakashi's heart suddenly felt very heavy with guilt for keeping his secret from the young man. Deep down, Kakashi was afraid that if he told Sasuke then something bad would surely happen. No one was more grateful than Kakashi for the convenient distraction of the holidays. They were moving his other patient today. "So are you going to go introduce yourself to her cousin?" he teased and turned to look at Sasuke. The spot next to him was empty. He turned around to find Sasuke and saw that he was already heading back for his room.

 _I'm going to need to tell her eventually_ , Sasuke thought glumly as he walked over to exit the room. He had no place here amongst the joyful atmosphere. No cousin or brother was coming to visit him. Sasuke pulled open the door a crack just as a gurney rolled by with a patient strapped down to its rails. His guess was that it was Tenten. But as the patient went by Sasuke immediately recognized the black hair, eyes as dark as his, and the pronounced creases beneath those familiar eyes. A split second later, Kakashi slammed the door in front of Sasuke's face. A split second was more than enough time.

"Who was that?" Sasuke asked as his anger began to boil.

"I know I should have told you," Kakashi tried to keep him calm.

"Who was that?!" Sasuke snarled furiously. Kakashi closed his mouth in a tight line and his gaze hardened.

"Your brother, Itachi," he answered tensely. "He was found and admitted here a couple of weeks ago with Sai and the others." The rest of Kakashi's words and explanations went unheard.

Something inside Sasuke broke and his eyes flashed a dangerous color of red.

.

 **160 hours left**.

…..

R&R. Part Three approaching fast hopefully before the end of January (if I don't shoot myself in the foot first). Hope you had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

-SweetVenom16


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